


The Wolf in the Walls

by ElizaDoALot



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, POV Teddy Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27897292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizaDoALot/pseuds/ElizaDoALot
Summary: Teddy Lupin hopes Hogwarts is as fantastical as his godfather Harry had been telling him. Fingers crossed that he is sorted into the house of his choice, has made friends quickly, and hopes to get good marks. However, his family's past brings up new challenges, prejudice and foes for him to face. Can Teddy make it through his first year without being killed, or worse...expelled?
Kudos: 3





	1. Teddy Remus Lupin

The past half-hour, his hair changed from black to bright orange to hot pink, finally settling on a soft, muted blue.

Nymphadora Tonks cuddled her baby close, her tired eyes not wandering from his calm face. He was a tiny little thing: pink cheeks soft as cotton and a little button nose to match, although she could swear that maybe she saw some of her late father in her baby’s features.

A soft knock on the bedroom door didn’t sway her attention. “You can come in.” She spoke.

Her husband’s scarred features emerged from the other side; his bottle-green eyes illuminated somewhat. Remus’ soft footfalls to the bed did not match his gangly frame.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Yknow, same old.” She smiled.

“Your mum said that it was a bit rough for you towards the end. Are you sure that you’re okay?”

Tonks nodded, “I insisted that if I’m beginning to feel sick or worse in a day or two, I’ll go and see that Muggle doctor who lives just up the way.”

Remus didn’t tempt an argument with his wife, save upsetting her or the baby. “Has he settled on a hair colour yet?”

“Blue seems to be his favourite right now,” She said. “although Ted might change it in the next few hours.”

“Ted?”

“Yeah. I felt like that … I don’t really know, seeing as my dad never really got to meet him, maybe it would be a good thing to honour his memory this way.”

Remus smiled, “I like it. I think it’s very fitting.”

Ted began to fuss, grumbling and gurgling. Tonks situated herself in a more comfortable position and began to nurse the baby. Remus kissed her head and left his wife and son to it, hoping that his presence wasn’t suffocating. As he headed into the kitchen, he grabbed his coat and headed out into the cold night.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mrs Tonks asked.

“To visit someone important.”

* * *

It was close to dawn when Remus returned to the house. Mrs Tonks had left a small lamp on in the kitchen along with some leftover Shepherd’s Pie to be reheated. While Remus tried his hardest to remain quiet, his tipsiness took over and knocked over a mug. Tonks appeared from the living room, her hair the usual bubblegum pink and tussled from sleep.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” Remus asked. He wrapped his arms around her and held Tonks tight.

“It’s okay. I need to pop to the bathroom.” She kissed him and helped clean up the broken mug. “How much firewhiskey did you end up having?”

“Not much. Barely a spoonful.”

Tonks laughed. “Such a lightweight.”

Teddy’s soft cries could be heard coming from the living room. “I’ll go see to him, love. Why don’t you eat that and get some tea into you?”

Tonks nodded and settled herself at the table.

Teddy’s cries became louder as Remus made his way to the small Moses basket by the sofa. Peeping into the basket, Teddy’s little face was screwed up, his hair a fiery red. Gingerly, Remus pick up his son and started to slowly rock him, wracking his rain for the lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. It took him some time to discover that Teddy had lulled himself back to sleep with his soft downy hair returning to the soft blue from earlier.

He smiled, “Is that all you wanted? Some attention?”

Remus wandered around the room, jigging his arms to soothe Teddy. He relished in the sensation of feeling the baby softly breathe and snuffle, the tickle of the duck fluff of baby hair on his arm. Stopping at the living room window, Remus watched the clouds in the night sky drift and listened to the whining wind rattle at the windows. The whistling of the kettle disturbed Teddy ever so slightly. Remus used that as a queue to settle the baby once again in his cot, draping a tartan blanket over his tiny body.

As Remus re-entered the kitchen, he and Tonks remained in silence, only sharing sleepy glances as the sun rose further into the sky.

* * *

In the week that followed, more news about the ever-growing challenges that the resistance faced grew evermore troubling. No-one had any clue about Harry’s whereabouts once he had left Shell Cottage, and people were beginning to grow worried.

Remus and Nymphadora did everything they could to occupy their minds with Teddy. He had started to open his eyes and burble and smile and all the things that parents cherish. Mrs Tonks pulled out an old Muggle camera from the loft and spent as much time as she could taking photos of the young family. On the day she headed into the village to get the photographs developed, news broke of a dragon escaping Gringotts.

“I don’t want you to leave him.” Tonks sobbed. “You can’t.”

“Dora, as long as one of us remains here, then Ted will never feel alone.” Remus kissed Teddy’s soft head. “Teddy needs you.”

She wanted to fight and bitch and bite and scream, but Tonks knew that Remus was right. “Go.” She said, defeated. Watching Remus leave was heart-breaking. She knew damn well that Remus would come back home. She knew it in her bones.

* * *

It had been hours since Remus had left, and there was no news from either him, nor the Order. It set Tonks on edge, her hair having turned a pale yellow.

"I think I should write a letter." Tonks said, making a quill and parchment appear before her. "It would let him know that we love him, and that we never imagined that this would happen."

"Don't you dare think or even dream about the worse outcome for this, Nymphadora. The best thing at the moment is to enjoy the light that is in the world: that little baby, upstairs. This is the happiest I've seen you both in months, so enjoy it before this war could possibly tear this family apart again."

Tonks stared back at her mother in disbelief. She had seen her angry plenty of times, but her anger came from somewhere different. This was the anger of a mother wolf protecting her cubs. This anger came from a fire inside Andromeda's belly. She went back to writing the letter, pouring her love and devotion into each letter. "Once those photos come back, Mum, could you slip some in this letter? I want Ted to have some happy memories of us."

Mrs Tonks pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of course."

Finishing the letter, she placed it in an envelope next to a photo of herself and Remus. Tonks pulled her mother into a tight embrace, one that evoked sorrow and love. "I love you, Mum. I always will."

"I love you too, Dora."

* * *

Mrs Tonks received a knock at the door: a knock that she had been expecting for hours. She raced toward it, making sure to dust the flour from her hands before opening it. Harry Potter stood on the doormat. He was covered in blood and dirt. Andromeda knew that Nymphadora and Remus had died before Harry had even opened his mouth. She had been dreading this moment since Ted had passed. She knew that one day her daughter and son-in-law would be caught up in all of this again. Andromeda thought she escaped all this pain and sorrow the first time around. The cry of anguish that passed her lips could be heard throughout all of Tinworth. And there was nothing that could be done to quell it.


	2. Happy Birthday

Almost eleven years had passed since Remus Lupin had come storming into Shell Cottage to announce that Tonks had given birth to a little boy. The once baby Teddy was now a tall boy with bottle green eyes and a never permanent hair colour (although it was mainly bright blue). He had been living with his grandmother in the Tonks house; his mother's bedroom had now become his own, where photographs of his cousins, aunts and uncles all laughing and smiling had been stuck to the doors of his wardrobe, clothes littered the floor constantly and a poster of the Falmouth Falcons Quidditch team had been pinned to the back of his door.

Andromeda Tonks carefully stepped into her grandson's room, before flourishing her wand and flicked it to open the curtains, letting bright sunshine to light up the room.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Teddy, Happy Birthday to you!" Mrs Tonks sung loudly.

Teddy groaned, placing his duvet further over his head. "Gran! It's too early to be awake!"

"It is nine o'clock on the morning," Mrs Tonks said.

Teddy popped his head out from under the duvet, his hair rumpled. "Early." He placed his head back under the covers.

Mrs Tonks rolled her eyes. "Well then," She said, hands on her hips. "I might as well tell the others downstairs to leave."

Teddy again popped his head from under the covers and stared at his grandmother with wide eyes. "What others? You haven't invited those muggle kids from next door have you? Merlin are they _dull_!"

"Edward! Don't be so rude about Michael and Sarah, they're lovely children. And, no, I haven't invited them."

At that moment, a sudden storm of small children came rushing into Teddy's room and leapt onto his bed, jumping up and down excitedly and shouting: "WAKE UP TEDDY! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!" Ginger hair swarmed Teddy's vision till he recognised the beaming faces of cousins Dominique and James. Both children laughed as they sat on Teddy's stomach and chest, forcing the wind out of him.

Chuckling, Teddy counted. "Only two gremlins? Where are the others?"

"Vic didn't wanna wake you up and the others are too small." James quickly said.

Teddy knotted his eyebrows. "Al can – well, Al can toddle up, but with help, so I can see that."

She walked over to the bedside table and picked up the forgotten tray. "Go and run downstairs, everyone won't wait all day for you." Teddy leapt out of bed, causing the others to tumble and land running after him downstairs.

Teddy entered the living room to cheers and a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'. Even though he was happy seeing his family, Teddy felt embarrassed with them all seeing him in his pyjamas; upon noticing his hair changing from blue to a soft pink, highlighting his embarrassment. His attempt to leave the room failed, as baby Lily Luna and Albus Severus toddled over and grabbed his feet tightly, weighing him down and making him wobble, much to the giggles and coos of his aunts and uncles.

Dominique, James and Albus ran over to the small pile of presents, only to be stopped by Harry. "Breakfast is in order first, don't you think?"

All the children cheered and piled into the small kitchen. Finding that nothing had been set out, they all groaned and looked towards their parents and Mrs Tonks for an explanation.

Harry held up a picnic basket. "It's such a nice day out, so I thought - well, Mrs Tonks thought, that we should have a huge picnic out near the beach? What do you think, huh?"

Giggling like hyenas, Dominique, James and Victoire raced out into the small garden and toward the rickety back gate. Lily and Hugo, being only a year old, were carried by their mothers Hermione and Ginny; Louis, being older, however still wobbly once he was on his feet, was given a piggy-back ride by his father Bill Weasley. Teddy ran after his cousins, only to feel a hand placed on his shoulder; letting out a small gasp, Teddy turned to see his grandmother holding some clothes and a pair of trainers. Huffing, he took the clothes and shoes out from her hands and chased after his family.

* * *

The picnic had been laid out and looked like a Hogwarts feast! There was crispy bacon; grilled sausages; mouth-watering plates of waffles and pancakes; a large platter of fruit had been laid out as well, and was being attacked by Lily, Hugo and Louis. Teddy, Dominique and James were playing by the sea, splashing each other when the waves got too close, whilst Victoire and Albus built sand castles with the buckets and spades bought out from Shell Cottage.

The adults sat on the blanket laughing and snapping photos of their children's antics. It was light-hearted between them all till Fleur said, "So 'ow iz your job at ze Ministry, 'Arry?"

Harry, finishing his gulp of orange juice, nodded. "It's going well, thanks for asking Fleur. There had been a small problem about ghouls troubling people in South Wales, but that's all cleared up now."

"If that ghoul problem had cleared up, wherever did you get that cut on your face Harry?" Hermione questioned, removing a plastic fork from Hugo's meaty hands.

Harry's gaze widened, then quickly softened. "This?" He pointed to the graze the started from under his right eye and ended at his jaw bone. "Auror training. I was duelling with one of the trainees, and she caught me by accident. You should've seen the look on her face, it was priceless."

Ginny swatted Harry's arm playfully. "I hope you didn't make that girl feel bad about it, like you did with Robbie Blaydon. You know he left to become a healer."

Ron choked on his drink. "Blimey Harry, I didn't think you were capable of being that mean to some poor kid who couldn't wait to train with you."

"Not one of my prouder moments, but I did send him a formal apology and some flowers."

Ron raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend. "Mate, you sent a man flowers?"

Before Harry could answer, drops of rain began to fall from the greying sky.

* * *

Everyone made it back to the Tonks' house, but not quick enough, it seemed, as everyone walked in looking like drowned rats. Mrs Tonks had laid out some mugs of tea for the adults and hot chocolate for the children, handing out woollen blankets and asking Harry to start getting the fire going good and strong to dry everyone's clothes.

With their clothes now drying off and bellies warm, the younger children were adamant that Teddy open some of his presents. "Go on Teddy please! Pretty please?" James' eyelashes fluttered.

Rolling his eyes, Teddy nodded. "Go on then."

With a collective gasp of excitement, all the children rushed towards the pile, and stocking their arms with gifts.

"Okay, Teddy, this one first," James confidently said with a big grin on his freckled face. The present was decorated with red and gold shiny paper, with a blue bow stuck in one corner.

Carefully removing the wrapping, Teddy's eyes widened at his gift: a Do-It-Yourself broom care kit, complete with little silver shears for stray bristles and handle polish. "Uncle Harry, Auntie Ginny, thank you so much for this! This is a lovely present, can't wait to use it on your old broom Aunt Ginny!"

Harry and Ginny smiled at each other, a twinkle of glee set into them. They had been arguing over the past few years about buying Teddy a broom for his eleventh birthday, but when Ginny retired from professional Qudditch to settle down with Harry, they saved her old broom, and gave it to him for Christmas.

Ron handed the boy another gift, this time with blue plain wrapping, like a brown paper package from the post office. "Here Ted, this one's from your Aunt Hermione and myself."

"Thanks Uncle Ron," Teddy smiled. Opening the present, Teddy received an assortment of sweets from Honeyduke's: Peppermint Imps, a few Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands, and several Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. "All these sweets for me? Are you serious, Uncle Ron?"

"I tried to dissuade him, Teddy," Hermione spoke instead of Ron. "But, so you don't have to buy any on the Hogwarts Express, we thought we'd buy some for you."

"But how?" Teddy asked. "Some of these will probably go stale in the next few days."

"Aha, that's where a little extra surprise comes in!" Ron's eyes twinkled. "Your aunt Hermione had developed a little charm on the box, so that the food remains fresh, like a muggle fridge."

Teddy's mouth was agape. "Wow! That's so cool! Thanks Aunt Hermione!" He stood up and hugged Hermione.

The presents that followed were: a Wizard Chess set from Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione; an Exploding Snap pack, a copy of _Curses and Counter-Curses_ by Vindictus Viridian and _Qudditch through the Ages_ by Kenilworth Wisp from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. Finally, it came to Mrs Tonks' present. She headed towards the cupboard-under-the-stairs, where she pulled out two packages and a letter.

"Here you are Teddy," She said, handing them to her grandson. "One of the presents are mine, the other present and the letter are something quite special."

Teddy gazed at the present that was obviously from him grandmother: the wrapping paper was green (his favourite colour) and was tied with a blue bow. Contemplating for a moment, he cautiously opened it, carefully removing the wrapping and bow (for Mrs Tonks' presents were always very special, so they had to be dealt with great care). The paper, once removed, revealed a photo album; opening it, Teddy gazed upon the faces his parents, his Potter and Weasley cousins, and baby pictures of himself. His mouth agape, he turned each page to reveal more and more pictures of his family till he reached the middle, where all that was stuck to the page was a letter, written in Mrs Tonks' neat, curly hand.

Mrs Tonks' kissed Teddy's white hair. "Happy Birthday, Edward."

Teddy said nothing to retort to his grandmother using his full name, to the surprise of all the adults; he kept staring at the letters. Facing his grandmother, he placed the album by his feet, and ran towards her: Teddy enveloped his grandmother into the tightest hug he had ever given anyone. "Thank you, so, so, so much, Gran," Teddy said, tears starting to form in his bottle-green eyes. "This is such a wonderful present. I cannot thank you enough."

Kissing his hair again, which had reverted back to its original blue colour again, Mrs Tonks began to cry herself.

Harry coughed loudly and stood up. "I'm sorry to ruin such a tender moment, Andromeda, but Gin and I need to get the children home, so they can get ready for tonight."

Mumbling ensued between the adults; getting up themselves and readying their children, despite their groans and mumbles. With goodbyes said, hugs given and kisses received, the Weasley-Potter families apparated to London, Godric's Hollow, and Ottery St. Catchpole. Mrs Tonks sighed, and began to tidy up the living room of the torn wrapping paper. "You can open the letters now, Teddy," She called out.

Pulling Teddy out of a trance-like state, he walked into the kitchen and sat at the large teak dining table. Gently pulling the letter from the page, he opened it, and read:

_Dearest Edward,_

_I know you do not like to be called 'Edward', but you were named after your grandfather, who was the best, and bravest man I have ever, ever known._

_If you are reading this, it means that I have given you the photo album. Whether it be your birthday or at Christmas, this is my gift. All these pictures are from summer holiday, every Christmas, and every birthday that you have ever shared with the Weasley-Potters; the first few pages will be filled with pictures of you and your parents before they died._

_Your parents loved you so very much, you have to understand that, Teddy. They loved you so much, that they died trying to keep our world safe, and so that you did not have to live in fear of a corrupt government and a deranged wizard._

_I hope that looking at these pictures will remind you of one important thing: that love is the most powerful magic in the world._

_Happy Birthday, my wonderful, wonderful grandson._

_Love,_

_Gran_

Teddy smiled and placed the letter down on the table. "Thank you Gran," He said. "Thank you so much for being the greatest gran in all of the world."

Mrs Tonks beamed and placed the spoon down. Walking over and kissing Teddy on the cheek, she pinched it and ruffled his hair. "And you are the greatest grandson in all of the world." Kissing him of the cheek again, Mrs Tonks went back to mixing the Victoria Sponge mixture.

"Gran," Teddy spoke.

"What's the matter Sweetie?"

"Can I open the other letter now?"

Mrs Tonks looked up from the bowl. "What letter?"

"The one you took out with the photo album from under the stairs. That one."

"Of course," Mrs Tonks said. "There's nothing stopping you, Ted. Go on and get it.

Leaving the table, Teddy walked into the living room and picked up the letter, which had been laying on the beige carpet, where his other presents were sitting. Looking at the faded envelope and the spidery handwriting, Teddy guessed that the letter was from his parents, and written sometime before they died.

Opening it with care, Teddy pulled out the letter, only to have some photographs fall out and land on the floor. Huffing at his clumsiness, Teddy picked them up, and noticed that there were dates written on the back of them, in a hand different to the one that was written on the envelope. Staring, Teddy read the dates: _7-4-1998_ , _8-4-1998_ , _9-4-1998_ and two other pictures from the days following; each picture taken included Teddy as a tiny newborn with emerald-green coloured hair, his mother Nymphadora and her bubble-gum pink hair, and his father Remus, who looked like he had run through a thorny bush, as small nicks littered his face and there was a very large cut across his nose.

"Where are these from?"

Mrs Tonks walked over to Teddy and looked at the photographs in his hands. She placed her hand over her mouth in shock. "Those, those Teddy," She told him, her voice beginning to become a little shaky. "Those are pictures of you and your parents, in April."

Teddy sat on the sofa, flicking through the very few pictures. "Really?"

"Yes, that was you and you parents not long after your father ran all the way from here to Shell Cottage to tell Uncle Bill, Auntie Fleur and Uncle Harry."

Teddy giggled. "He never told me that part… But that's a mile and a half! How did Dad run all that without getting tired?"

Mrs Tonks raised her eyebrow. "After all that reading that you've done on werewolves? I'm quite surprised at you, Edward."

Teddy thought for a moment; when he realised, his face lit up like a light-bulb. "Oh yeah, cause he was a werewolf." He smiled widely.

Mrs Tonks shook her head; she laughed and ruffled Teddy's blue hair. "I worry about you sometimes, Edward. Go on, read the letter."

Removing the letter from the envelope, the yellowing paper crinkled a little. Opening it carefully, Teddy began to read the letter:

_To our Funny Little Boy,_

_Your mother and I are about to face a battle, and it's nothing like we have ever faced before. We both know that we might not make it out alive, so this letter is for you. Right now, you're being held by your mother: she's letting you play with her fingers, and both of you are changing hair colours rapidly to match, which your grandmother finds amusing. Right now, I am writing this letter, if you haven't guessed already, I'm your father, Remus._

_Know this, Teddy: you are loved. Everyone loves and will love you, so do not think that because of your bright green hair, your piggy-morphed nose or who your parents were, you will be treated like an outsider. Your gift is so very special: each day you are reminding me that you are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life (don't tell your Uncle Harry or your mother I said that). Just know, Teddy: we loved you, so very, very much, and we still love you even today. I hope that, thanks to us (but with a lot of thanks to Uncle Harry), that you live in a safe and loving world were you will not be feared._

_If my mathematics is correct, the day you're reading this you be your eleventh birthday. I hope that this letter and the pictures will make up for our lack of present (that is, if we come out of this war). Also, your Hogwarts letter will be arriving any day now! I hope you have many happy years spending time at Hogwarts, I know that your mother and I did, that's for sure._

_Lots, Lots, Lots of Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

Teddy read and re-read his father's words over and over. He couldn't help but to notice the similarities between their handwriting: Remus wrote his the s', the t's and the g's all in the same way Teddy did, and it made a feeling of pride swell up in him like a balloon being blown up with helium. Letting his finger trace along his father's words, Teddy couldn't help but let out a sigh of sadness; he could feel tears leave pinpricks at the back of his eyes, making them ache a little. Smiling, he slipped the letter back into the envelope.

"Well?" Mrs Tonks asked. She had been sitting next to Teddy with the bowl of cake batter in her lap, watching his face and switching her glances between him and letter. "What did it say?"

Teddy looked at Mrs Tonks, and let his façade fade: his eyes were pink, with tears sitting in the corners of his eyes. "They loved me, Gran, they said they loved me." Leaping on his grandmother to give her a bear-hug, Teddy cause the bowl to fall onto the floor, dirtying the carpet, but he did care.

Mrs Tonks stroked Teddy's hair and rubbed his back, letting his tears drip into the fabric of her apron. "Of course they did, you silly billy, of course they did! Why on earth would you think that?"

Sniffing, Teddy sat back into the sofa. "I didn't think that, I just wanted to hear it from them, rather than you and Uncle Harry." Catching his notice, Teddy saw the ruined bowl of cake batter. "Oh no, I ruined the cake!"

Mrs Tonks beamed. "No matter," She said, wiping the remaining tears away from Teddy's eyes. "We can make a new one."


	3. Party at The Burrow

With showers taken, hair washed and party clothes on, Teddy and Mrs Tonks arrived at The Burrow with the re-made cake in a box. The box, made of thin green cardboard, was being held by Teddy, and had an anti-open charm placed upon the lid top stop any fingers from leaving trace marks and finger holes in the icing.

Hearing the music of The Weird Sisters emulating from the Weasley's back-garden, Teddy knew that this was going to be a good evening. He marched towards the front door and knocked, to have Mrs Weasley, with her ginger hair streaked with sliver, answer it with a large smile on her face, and open arms ready for a warm, motherly hug.

"Teddy! Lovely to see you dear," She kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder affectionately. "Take that cake through to the kitchen where Arthur will take it off of your hands."

"Okay," Teddy walked through the house, minding out of the way of Dominique chasing her cousin Lucy. Whizzing around, he stopped spinning and landed in font of Victoire, who was wearing a pearly-pink dress and her sliver-blond hair tied into a French plait. She didn't look too pleased.

"Hiya Vic," Teddy chirped; he placed the cake box near the other large trays of food. "What's wrong?"

Victoire huffed. "Maman had made me wear this stupid dress. It looks horrible on me: with my complexion, it makes me look ill."

Teddy nodded. "You don't have to worry about how it makes your complexion look," He smiled at her. "You look pretty nonetheless."

"But I don't feel pretty Teddy!" She exclaimed. "I want to wear jeans and a flattering top, not a frilly pink dress! I look like une poupée de Chine qui a s'asseoir sur une étagère tout le temps, a la recherche de jolie été attendre que quelqu'un me cherche et me ramener à la maison!"

"'Toire, English. I can't understand you when you staring rambling in angry French."

As if breaking out of a trance, Victoire nodded. "Okay. I said that I look like a China doll who just sits on a shelf all the time, looking pretty, and waiting for someone to pick me and take me home."

Teddy laughed. "Why don't you just tell your mum that you don't like to look like a china doll?"

"She's had enough of myself and Dom staring to act like boys, you know: messing around, getting muddy and fighting with our hands. She wants us to start acting like young ladies."

"Of course, your mum wants you two to act like ladies," Her father, Bill Weasley interrupted. "She'd like two girls and one boy in the house, not three boys."

"But Papa!" Victoire whined. "Playing quidditch and messing about with Uncle George's practical jokes isn't behaving like a boy."

"It isn't but that's what your mother has ingrained into my brain over the past six years." Bill laughed and went out to join the other adults.

Teddy and Victoire watched as Bill left them standing in the kitchen. "Adults are weird." Teddy said.

* * *

Teddy had said hello to anyone and everyone who was at the party. He had met and been complimented by the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shaklebolt; tidy hair mussed by a few of his mother's old school friends; cheek pinched by Augusta Longbottom and widely smiled at by both Neville and Hannah. Despite those alarming anecdotes, the night was going well.

The older Weasley children, plus Teddy, and Luna Lovegood's two boys, Lorcan and Lysander, gathered by the garden-gnome patch to have a game of gnome tossing. Dom and Lysander were neck-and-neck, with three gnomes thrown between them; Dom had just grabbed hold of a particularly ugly gnome: its potato-like head covered with lumps and bumps. Holding the creature by the ankle, Dom began to swing herself around till the gnome was flung over the small hedge and landed several feet away from the tree stump, earning Dom a round of applause.

"Impressive Weasley," Lorcan said. He smirked as he leapt upon an unsuspecting gnome that had just popped its head out. "But try this against your girly swing!" Lorcan, without swinging, threw the gnome over the hedge, but instead of flying meters, like Lorcan had hoped, the gnome's foot had become caught in the hedge, so dangled amongst the twigs and branches, grumbling and squirming. His face fallen, Lorcan began to blush madly, making the boy look like a tomato; the other children scoffed and giggled, but seeing Lorcan's face, they all stopped and started to compliment him on his throw, and how getting the gnome tangled in the hedge.

"How are we going to get him out?" Roxanne questioned, prodding the hedge, and getting a loud grumble from the gnome.

"Just leave it," Lysander said. "I think he'll get himself out, but mum said that gnomes aren't that clever, but their saliva is quite good for creativity." Lorcan and Lysander's mother, Luna, was quite the eccentric witch, believing in all manner of strange and wonderful magical creatures; their father, Rolf, was the grandson of Newt Scamander, author of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ – a textbook used by Hogwarts students.

"Zere you are, Dominique!" Fleur came rushing towards the children. She grabbed Dom by the wrist and began pulling her towards the tent. "I 'ope zat you 'ave-ent been mezzing about weeth zose gah-nomes again. Zat iz no way to be'ave."

* * *

"Hello everyone, and welcome to Teddy's eleventh birthday party!"

"Thank you all for coming," Harry spoke. "I bet Teddy is quite grateful that all of you are here to celebrate with him, after all, it's not every day that a young man turns eleven, now, is it?"

There was a thundering laugh from the back. Everyone turned to see Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, heartily laughing at Harry's remark, as it was the same phrase he said to Harry over sixteen years previously.

"Anyway," Harry coughed. "Time for a little story." He took a small gulp from his glass of pumpkin juice. "Eleven years ago, I was on the run from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And one night, whilst staying at Number 12, Grimmuald Place in London, there was a knock on the door: it was Remus Lupin. He had come to give me some help, but also telling Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and myself some news: that he and his wife, Nymphadora 'Don't Call Me Nymphadora' Tonks, were expecting a baby."

There were some coos from the crowd of people.

"And almost a year later, at the quaint Shell Cottage in Tinworth, on this night: Remus Lupin had come bursting through the door, telling everyone that Nymphadora had given birth to a healthy baby boy with colour-changing hair named Teddy Remus Lupin. If you all could raise your glasses," Harry spoke, raising his own. "I'd like to make a toast: to Edward Remus Lupin."

"To Edward Remus Lupin!" Everyone cheered and drank from their glasses.

"Thank you for bearing with me," Harry laughed. "I'd like to ask the birthday boy himself to come up and have a say."

Teddy's ears pricked up like a wolf's. Him? _Speaking_?! Was Uncle Harry out of his mind?! Before Teddy could protest, Victoire and Dom had grabbed his hands, and began to pull him towards the small stand.

"Err," Teddy began. His voice wasn't loud enough, that he knew, so he tried to speak up. "Thank you all for coming, I know you already heard that from Harry, but I am truly thankful for you being here. I'm surprised that this many people were going to be here: I just thought it would be the Weasley's, the Potter's, and my grandmother along with myself, enjoying a delicious cooked meal from Mrs Weasley. As in Molly Weasley, not Hermione, Angelina, or Fleur."

Everyone giggled and smirked.

"It's surprising to know that there are loads of people that care about me. I know I have my own family, but the rest of you that are here … wow: there are so many. Again, thank you all so much for coming tonight; but an even bigger thank you to Mr and Mrs Weasley who have let us be here, and for cooking the best food anyone has ever tasted." Teddy began to applaud them both, causing Mrs Weasley to star crying, and Mr Weasley to nod appreciatively towards Teddy. Nodding towards the applauding crowd, Teddy hastily left the stand, grabbing a small glass of homemade lemonade as he left. Letting the cool night air bring a warm glow to his cheeks, Teddy took a long swig of the lemonade, letting the sharp bubbles fizz on his tongue. Sighing, he looked into the night sky ad saw all the little stars twinkling and dancing in the inky sky.

Hearing an unfamiliar sound, other than the lively chatter from the tent; he grabbed a nearby gardening spade, and held onto it tightly. Slowly walking towards the sound, which was coming from the shed, Teddy raised the spade above his head and charged towards the shed, waving the spade around wildly like a madman, before noticing that it was an owl. Seeing that the owl had its foot ensnared in the brambles that stuck to the shed as if both had a magnetic attraction, Teddy dropped the spade and helped the poor owl out of the scratchy thorns.

"There you are," Teddy smiled and stroked the owl's feathers. "You're out now. Is that better?"

The owl affectionately nipped at Teddy's finger, and flew down to the ground, picking up its fallen cargo: a letter. Landing gently on Teddy's shoulder, the owl dropped the letter into Teddy's hands and flew off in a mad flutter of wings, and a small hoot. Looking at the letter, Teddy noticed a strange familiarity about it. Turning it over, he could see the envelope was addressed to him, and written in emerald green ink; turning it over again, Teddy could see the Hogwarts wax seal stamped to keep the letter shut. He couldn't believe it: that his letter had finally arrived. He'd been waiting nearly all day, every now and then glancing out of the windows for any sign of his letter arriving. And now his letter had finally arrived. Teddy looked at his reflection in the glass of the shed window, and could see that his hair was white as snow from shock.

At last, his Hogwarts letter had finally arrived.


	4. The Letter

Teddy stared at the letter. It was laid out in front of him, amongst his toast and orange juice; the two pieces of paper were orderly placed next to each other, as if they were soldiers guarding the toast rack. Teddy hadn't read the letter yet. Once he received the letter three months ago, he ran straight to his grandmother's side and began to wave the letter about, joy flying from every direction through his hand gestures. Everyone in the tent congratulated Teddy on his letter, and gave him different tips on how to get used to life at Hogwarts, how to get on the right side of teachers, and how to handle the reams and reams of homework that is handed out to students. Teddy pinned the letter to his cork pin-board and forgotten about it till he realised that the thirty-first of July was creeping closer and closer; it was the twenty-seventh when he unpinned the letter.

Mrs Tonks sat down next to him and rubbed Teddy' shoulder, making him jump a little. "Sorry to have scared you, Teddy." She giggled. "Are you going to read your letter? You've been staring at it for nearly ten minutes."

Teddy nodded. "I will, Gran, but I just can't quite believe it. I mean, I knew that it was going to arrive at some point, but I just didn't think that it would turn up like that."

"Everyone had their own special way of getting their letter, Ted," Mrs Tonks picked up his plate and placed it in the sink. "And you saving that owl's leg was your way of getting your letter. Your mother's letter was given to her by the family cat."

"Why the cat? Didn't they use owls when Mum was my age?"

"They did use owls, it was just this particular owl had somehow landed in the cat's basket, and I think was laying their next to the cat with a very surprised look on its face. Didn't stop terrorising the poor thing till your grandfather sent it on its way back."

"That sounded like something Errol would do," Teddy remarked.

"I think it was Errol, actually." She replied. "I don't know, most of the owls were a bit clumsy with their landings. I remember receiving my letter: the owl delivering it stormed through the window and smashed the glass; my mother wasn't too happy about it: she wrote a letter of complaint to the school when she sent a very bewildered owl back to Hogwarts."

Teddy laughed and picked up the first letter:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class)_

_Dear Mr Lupin,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary equipment._ _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Filius Flitwick_

_Deputy Headmaster_

Mrs Tonks patted Teddy's shoulder. "I'll go find Beedle. She's probably around the chimney somewhere."

Teddy picked up the second piece of parchment:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL FOR WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Uniform

_First-year students will require:_

_1._ _Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2._ _One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3._ _One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4._ _One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic (Revised) _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

Teddy looked up from the parchment, and at his grandmother hopefully. "Can we go tomorrow, Gran?"

"No, not yet. Uncle Harry said he'd go with you to Diagon Alley when he wasn't busy."

"But he isn't now!" He whined.

Mrs Tonks placed her hands on her hips and knotted her eyebrows. "Edward, he is. Uncle Harry said so at dinner two weeks ago."

"What's he doing?"

"There was something about a rogue witch running rampant and had been terrorising muggles in the Scottish Highlands for over a month, and Harry said that he would hopefully be back by the end of this week, middle of August at the least."

"But I want to go! I want to go before it gets hectic!"

"I know you do. But, as a compromise to buying all your things for Hogwarts, why not we go out next Saturday to Diagon Alley, huh? What do you think?"

Teddy pondered the thought for a moment. "Yeah, that sounds fun. What we gonna do?"

Teddy had visited London before: he had broken his leg after falling off of his broom when he was seven, and had to be taken to St Mungo's by his grandmother.

* * *

He woke up that morning feeling great. The sun was shining, the smell of bacon frying in the pan drifted from the kitchen, and the fresh smell of flowers wafting through his open window from the garden.

Whipping his clothes on and running down stairs, Teddy was met with Harry Potter sipping from a mug of tea, and helping himself to a slice of toast.

"Uncle Harry!" Teddy ran to his godfather, hugging him tightly. "I thought you weren't coming back till the end of next week!"

"I thought so too," Harry smiled. "But we were able to handle that witch pretty easily, and she hadn't meddled with too many muggles, so there weren't that many minds to charm."

"I wish I was an Auror, they sound so cool!" Teddy was buzzing; seeing Harry after him being away for so long made him very happy, so much so that his joy changed his hair into a bright sunny yellow.

"Alright, alright, calm down, sparky, otherwise you'll explode." Harry laughed.

"But I feel like exploding, Uncle Harry, I just feel so excited!" Teddy was bouncing slightly, which Mrs Tonks would blame on the sugar in the muggle cereal that Teddy ate for breakfast, however it was the feeling of adrenaline racing through his body as if it were a rocket.

"You're ready to go?" Harry asked.

Teddy nodded, his head bobbed enthusiastically. "Yup."

"Andromeda, if you would so kindly make start on a fire, we're about to introduce Teddy into the Floo Network."

"The Floo Network?" Teddy sounded worried. "You sure about this, Uncle Harry?"

"Yup," He simply replied. "I tried it once myself when I was your age,"

"Really?"

Harry bobbed his head. "It was just before after my twelfth birthday that the Weasley and I had to travel to Diagon Alley by Floo,"

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "And what happened? Lemme guess: you ended up in Knockturn Alley instead?"

Harry remained silent.

"The fire's ready!" Mrs Tonks chirped. "Harry, why don't you show Ted how it's done, hm?"

Harry obliged, taking a large handful of powder that looked a lot like ash from the fireplace. "Right, all you have to do, Ted, is think of the place you want to go, and loudly and clearly say the name of that place. So if I were to say 'The Leakey Cauldron!'" Harry vanished in a burst of green flames and dust.

Teddy leapt back. "There is no way you're getting me to do _that_!"

"It's the easiest way to get to Diagon Alley, Ted," Mrs Tonks patted his shoulder. "Travelling by Floo is one of the safest methods, it's better than Portkey."

Teddy groaned and gazed at his grandmother with large, puppy-like eyes. "Do I have to?"

Mrs Tonks sighed and nodded her head.

Teddy sucked in a mouthful of air and gathered a large pile of Floo powder in his hand. Looking into the yellow flames, he paused. "Are these flames gonna hurt when I step into them?"

"No, you silly boy, I cast a flame-freezer charm, so you won't feel a thing."

Teddy gulped. "Good," He stepped into the flames, feeling them tickle against his skin. "I have to say the name?"

Mrs Tonks again nodded. "Yes, and don't forget to hold your breath, the Floo soot tastes horrible."

* * *

Sharply in-taking air, Teddy imagined the Leakey Cauldron pub, and it's hangings of each Hogwarts house banner, the funny wizard who twirls his spoon around in his mug of tea, and the smiling face of Hannah Longbottom, with her blond curls and bright blue eyes. "The Leaky Cauldron!" He yelled, throwing the powder into the flames. In a sudden burst of green flames and dust, Teddy breathed in and held his breath as he felt air whistle around him, and a rushing sound filling his ears. His eyes were shut tight, hoping for no smoke or ash to enter, and make his eyes water.

For what felt like a few moments, Teddy landed with a tumble into the Leaky Cauldron, covered in dust and ash. Shaking the powdery remains from his now russet hair, Teddy saw that he had landed in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron, receiving strange looks from the customers, or grumbles from elderly folk about the ruckus that he had caused their once peaceful afternoon.

"You alright Ted?" Harry asked, offering a hand to pull Teddy up.

Teddy dusted his clothes and nodded as a reply. "I think so. Just a little spooked I guess from the journey here."

Harry smiled and ruffled Teddy's blue hair. "Travelling by Floo, especially when inexperienced, is quite frightening, you'll get used to it the more times you attempt tackling it."

Another cloud of dust and ash spread from the fireplace, meaning that Mrs Tonks had arrived. She spluttered and coughed. "I've always hated travelling like that: too much ash for my liking." Mrs Tonks grumbled to herself as she pat her clothes down. "I said that we should have used a different way of getting here, but no, no: we go by Floo."

"I thought you liked using the Floo, Gran," Teddy spoke.

"I do, it's just very, very bothersome and is horrible to use when an unclean fireplace is used."

A little voice rose from behind the bar, and the clattering of pewter cups revealed a house elf with huge green eyes, rather like tennis balls, and an off-white pillowcase that draped down to its ankles. "Do not worry, Mistress, Missy will clean the fireplace immediately." The house elf set to work, like she had said, immediately, frantically sweeping up the dust from the floor.

"It is okay, Missy, you can stop," A soft voice echoed out from behind the bar again. Hannah Longbottom beamed widely as she walked out and embraced Harry. "It's very good to see you again, Harry. How's Ginny and the children?"

"All are doing well. James had caught a cold, and passed it onto Lily, so Ginny has had to suffer them for a few days."

"Aww. Give them my love and tell them I hope they get better soon."

"Will do."

Hannah walked behind the bar and started to fill two cups with butterbeer, and another with pumpkin juice. "So, what brings Harry Potter to Diagon Alley then?"

Harry took a sip of his drink and pointed at Teddy. "Hogwarts business, Hannah. Getting Teddy his school stuff today."

"Ah, I see. I remember getting my Hogwarts things, but then again, don't we all?" Hannah sighed.

Both Mrs Tonks and Harry nodded. "I bet Neville's getting a bit anxious at the moment, what with planning his lessons and all?" Mrs Tonks asked.

"Who's getting anxious?" Neville entered, his reading glasses askew on his nose.

"You are, love," Hannah said, kissing him on the cheek. "Harry was telling me that he's getting Teddy's Hogwarts things today.

"Ah, at last. Excited, Ted?"

Teddy finished his gulp of pumpkin juice and nodded madly. "Yup, can't wait!"

"What House do you think that you'll be in?"

He shrugged. "Not really sure. Fat chance for getting into Ravenclaw: you gotta be super bright, and I'm not. Gryffindor would be pretty cool, as would Hufflepuff, but I'd be annoyed if I'm placed in Slytherin."

Mrs Tonks swatted his arm. "I was in Slytherin, I'll have you know."

Teddy huffed. "Alright, maybe not _all_ Slytherins are bad, maybe it was just the Malfoy family."

"Ted, Dromeda: don't we have things to do? I've only got a few hours before I have to go back to the Ministry" Harry muttered.

"Ah, yes, of course," Mrs Tonks placed her glass and placed some galleons onto the bar. "Come along Edward."

"Oh, right," Teddy finished his drink, and placed it onto the bar. "Thanks for the drink, Hannah. See you in September Neville!"

They walked through the back door, into an alley that ended in a brick wall. Mrs Tonks produced her wand and tapped some bricks: two up, one across and two down. The pattern caused the bricks to move, revealing a doorway that lead to a long street full of witches and wizards. Teddy gazed at the sight in amazement; sure, he had been to Diagon Alley before, but never seen it like this.

"Welcome, Teddy," Harry said. "To Diagon Alley."


	5. Diagon Alley

With a wave of dust and bricks, Teddy saw Diagon Alley. It was filled with people: wizards, witches and muggles alike. All were darting through different shops, trying to buy Hogwarts supplies.

"Before we go anywhere," Harry said. "I have to run into Gringotts. You can come with me if you want to,"

"Sure," Teddy shrugged – he had never been to Gringotts before, but there is a first time for everything. He, Harry and Mrs Tonks walked down the main street of Diagon Alley, trying not to barge into people as they walked past.

* * *

They stopped at the giant oak doors of a glittering white building. As they walked up, Teddy saw that a glass dome on top of the building was still being repaired from the dragon escape over ten years ago, where Uncles Ron and Harry with Aunt Hermione escaped from Gringotts with the horcrux that was trapped in Helga Hufflepuff's cup. Two security wizards, who were dressed like muggle policemen, creaked the doors open for them, to a reveal a corridor darker than the path to Knockturn Alley. Harry soldiered forward, followed by Mrs Tonks, who pulled Teddy along: his shoes squeaking along the gleaming marble flooring.

Harry halted in front of a large desk; behind it, sitting in a padded chair, was a withered goblin, with dark eyes that sparkled like the jewels that he was studying, sharp teeth like needles, and long-nailed, clever fingers.

"Excuse me," Harry spoke.

The goblin did not look up.

"Excuse me," Harry raised his voice a little this time, causing a few heads to rise and turn to face him.

This time, the goblin looked up, sighing at the interruption. "Ah," The goblin sounded surprised. "The Boy who Lived Twice, how may I assist you today?"

"I'm here of my own accord, Master Longfinger," Harry explained. "I wish to withdraw some money from my vault, along with Mr Lupin's vault as well."

"Of course," Longfinger nodded. "May I ask that you present your wand, Mister Potter,"

Harry paused. "Why is that?"

"There have been a number of break-ins over the past month, and the Auror office has done nothing about this!"

Harry presented his wand. "I shall see to this immediately, Longfinger, I would like this matter to be resolved before there is another robbery reported."

Longfinger nodded again and shoved the wand back into Harry's hands. "Rasputin will show you three to your appropriate vaults."

A smaller goblin with bright, keen eyes, with a sharp-toothed grin set upon his face. "Sirs," He bowed. "And Lady. If you follow me," Rasputin bought them through a small antechamber, where sat in the middle a four-seated cart.

"You, sit." His voice, Teddy noticed, had a strange accent; he didn't know where, as his geography wasn't perfect, but he guessed that the goblin came from Bulgaria area.

* * *

The cart spun, whizzed, and twirled along the track. Teddy thought that the ride was great, but Mrs Tonks didn't think so: as the cart came to a stop outside Harry's vault, she looked positively green. Rasputin hopped out, opening his hand for the lamp.

"Lamp please," Harry passed him the lamp. Placing it down next to the door of the vault, he opened his hand out again. "Key please." Harry handed Rasputin the key, and with a small puff of green smoke, the vault was open. Nearly hundreds of cauldrons full of Galleons were seen, before that an over fifty cauldrons of Sickles, however, there was only twenty cauldrons that were full of Knuts. Harry produced a small sack from his pocket and picked out some handfuls of coins from some of the cauldrons.

They all left Harry's vault, and headed deeper into the bank for Teddy's vault, which was less of a sight than Harry's was. As his father wasn't very financially stable, and his mother was on the very verge of being unstable, they didn't have a lot of money to combine to make such a large vault not as full as it could have been: there were only ten cauldrons; only half were full of Galleons, three filled with Sickles and only two full of Knuts. Teddy tried to choose wisely when he picked out the money: two small handfuls from each cauldron, slipping the money into his grandmother's open purse.

Once leaving Gringotts, they headed toward Madame Malkin's to purchase Teddy's robes. Mrs Tonks joked with Madame Malkin about Teddy constantly increase in height: "He'll have to buy new ones by the time he goes to Hogwarts!"

* * *

Afterwards it was to Flourish and Blotts for school books; all the children and parents fawned over Harry, forever shaking his hand and telling tales about their school days. As they left, Harry had run into Oliver Wood, his wife Katie Bell, and their daughter Morgan: Oliver was pleased to see Harry after so many years, and his daughter, who was starting Hogwarts that same year, was taken with Quidditch like a fish to water: "Watch out for her on the pitch, Ted," Oliver had laughed. They all stuck to the Wood family before splitting off at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

"Where to next, Ted?" Harry questioned as he finished off his ice-cream (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

Teddy licked the fudge from around his lips. "Um…. How about Ollivanders?"

* * *

Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC was a narrow and shabby looking shop. Looking in the window, Teddy noticed a single wand had been placed on a dusty purple cushion.

"Come on Ted," Harry held the door open. "Let's find which wand chooses you."

The shop itself looked huge; hundreds of shelves reached up to the ceiling, all covered with dust and heavily laden with wand boxes.

"Hello?" Teddy called out timidly.

Suddenly, a small withered old man with eyes like moons seemed to have popped out of nowhere. "Ah, I was wondering when I would see you, Mr Lupin," He smiled.

"I remember like it was only yesterday that your mother and father were here buying their wands. Your mother's wand was quite astounding: mahogany and phoenix feather, twelve and a quarter inch; your father, on the other hand, seemed to have favoured a cypress wand: it suited him well, but then again, the wand chooses the wizard, Mr Lupin."

"Uh-huh," Teddy uttered.

Ollivander pulled out a small tape-measure, similar to what dress-makers used. "Which arm is you wand arm?"

"I'm left-handed." Teddy offered out his left arm, letting Ollivander measure it with the upmost precision.

"Of course. Now, let me see…" Ollivander wandered off deep into the shop, letting the little tape-measure continue its job. By the time that he had returned with his arms laden with three boxes, the tape-measure had begun to measure the length of Teddy's ears. "Try this one: maple and phoenix feather, eleven inches, swishy."

Teddy was handed a light-coloured wand, but it didn't seem to feel right in his hand. He waved the wand gently, only to have it shoot out of his hand like a bullet from a gun, clattering to the floor loudly, causing an echo.

Ollivander sighed, giving a small, hoarse laugh. "No my dear boy, that will not do." He opened another box, showing a black wand with a white flash at the bottom. "This wand is made of ash and unicorn core, ten and three-quarter inches, very brittle, it seems."

Again, the wand did not have the right sense of belonging in Teddy's hand. Before he could as so much bring the wand up to wave it, it was snatched out of his hand. "No, definitely not!" Ollivander proclaimed, placing the wand back into its box. The final box was opened, revealing a burgundy coloured wand with strange markings covering it from the tip to the bottom. "This one is a rather special wand, having being made from cherry and dragon heartstring; it is twelve and a quarter inch long, and it has a hard nature to it, meaning that this wand has a very sturdy connection to its owner."

Having it placed in his hand, Teddy felt a sudden sense of warmth and a tingling feeling within his fingers. "This feels like the one," Teddy smiled.

"Give it a wave then!" Ollivander crooned.

Bringing the wand to shoulder height, Teddy gave the gentlest of waves before stars and sparkles where shooting out of the tip of the wand, illuminating the dark shop.

Harry, Mrs Tonks, and Ollivander all applauded the magic that was before them. "Well done, my boy! Well done!" Ollivander took the wand from Teddy's hand, placing it back into it box and wrapping it up, giving the package a large red sticker to hold the brown paper in place.

* * *

Mrs Tonks stood outside of Eyelop's Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie. Hearing the little bronze bell tinkle, she turned to discover that Teddy was carrying a cat basket with a little black cat with one yellow eye and the other green, whilst Harry was the last one to come out of the door with an owl cage, carrying a beige coloured owl that had its head tucked under its wing.

"Good gracious Edward!" Mrs Tonks exclaimed. "How on earth did you buy both of them? Professor McGonagall will not be best pleased at this sight!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Nan!" Teddy grinned. "The cat is for you! It's so you don't get lonely in the house whilst I'm gone! Her name's Helga."

Mrs Tonks didn't like the idea that Harry had bought two pets, but on the trip to Pottage's Cauldron Shop, Harry had put her mind at ease, informing her that Teddy was the one to purchase the cat, not him, and that the owl was another belated birthday gift, to which Mrs Tonks rolled her eyes at, saying "You spoil that boy rotten, Harry Potter."


	6. The Hogwarts Express

Teddy looked at the wall, and gulped.

"And you're one hundred per-cent sure that I'm going to make it through the wall?"

Harry nodded, gripping hold of Teddy's hands that lay on the handle of the trolley. "Yes, I'm positive. Now all you have to do is run, then you'll be on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Ready?"

Teddy looked at his godfather straight in his eyes. "Ready."

Closing his eyes, Teddy felt his feet thump against the concrete of King's Cross Station, as he and Harry charged toward the wall between Platform Nine and Ten.

Upon opening them again, Teddy marvelled in the beauty of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Wheeling the trolley further down the platform, he saw all the different students, now and old; all the different noises that came from the hooting owls, the hissing cats, and the croaking toads; and gazed at the Hogwarts Express, with the gleaming burgundy and black colours of it shining in the autumnal September sunlight.

"C'mon Ted," Harry spoke. "Let's get your stuff onto the train."

* * *

The train whined and whistled as it alerted the people on the platform of the time.

There was a mad rush of kisses goodbye, hugs, and the quick exchange of small items as Hogwarts students began to board the train. Teddy, clamped onto Harry, buried his face into his godfather's coat. "You will write, won't you, Uncle Harry?" He asked.

Harry smiled and sighed whilst ruffling Teddy's deep blue hair (a colour it takes when Teddy becomes upset). "Of course I will! I can't promise that my letters will be weekly, you know that, but I swear that I will always write."

"What about you, Nan?" Teddy looked toward his grandmother.

"I'll write every day, if you want me to," She giggled. "But promise me that there will be no Howlers flying through my windows."

Teddy wickedly beamed. "Well, I can't promise _that_ now, can I?"

Mrs Tonks kissed Teddy's hair. "Run along quickly now, Edward, before you miss that train."

Teddy smiled as he ran toward the nearest door, hanging out of it as the train began to move out of the station. "Bye Nan! Bye Uncle Harry!"

Harry and Mrs Tonks waved till the train vanished in large clouds of steam; the whistling of the train reverberating off of the stone walls of the station.

* * *

Teddy walked along the train, hoping to find an empty compartment to sit in till the train reached Hogsmeade. His music player earbuds tucked securely into his ears, blasting out The Bent Winged Snitches' newest album release, Teddy wandered further down the train till he found the emptiest compartment on the express: a girl with curly ash-blonde hair sat crossed-legged, staring out of the window contently; a second girl with long, dark hair playing chess with herself; and a boy, like the second girl, with dark hair and glasses, fiddling with a Rubik's Cube. Huffing, he opened the door, only to get wide-eyed stares from everyone in the compartment.

"Hi." Teddy spoke, breaking the pregnant silence that had risen. "Do you mind if I sit in her? This is the only compartment with any space."

"Sure," The dark-haired girl said. "I'm Jem, by the way. It's short for Jemima."

"I'm Jemima's brother, Stefan," Stefan, now named, offered his hand out, which Teddy took.

The other girl spoke up with her small voice. "I'm Carrie."

"I'm Teddy: Teddy Lupin." He said. "So... You guys nervous for tonight?"

Jem shrugged. "I'm excited, but just a little curious as to what is going to happen at the sorting."

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "Our elder sister, Tessa, told me and Jem that her sorting was horrid: you had to take this really hard test, and if you didn't pass, they have to throw you to the Giant Squid in the Black Lake."

Teddy rose an eyebrow. "Really? What about you," He turned to Carrie. "Any rumours about the sorting?"

"Not really. I haven't really had any contact with the wizarding world since my dad and brother died, so yeah, I've had to hear everything from other students on the platform."

Stefan was agog, whilst Teddy seemed aghast.

"You're a Muggle-Born, then?" Stefan exclaimed.

Carrie glared at Stefan; her brown eyes boring holes into his head. "Half-Blood, actually. My dad was the wizard, and my mum was the muggle. After my father died in the Second Great Wizarding War, along with my older brother Kieran, my mum ran away and hid. When I was born she hoped that didn't have any magic liek ym dad, which I can understand why: she was scared of course. When my letter came, she was terrified: she tried to do everything in her power to make me stay at home, luckily Professor McGonagall came to calm her down, and explained that Hogwarts and the wizarding world was safe again."

"Oh." Stefan looked at his feet in a mixture of shame and embarrassment. "Sorry."

Carrie gave a small smile. "That's okay. At least you three know, but then again, I'm going to have to explain all that again to the poor girls I'll be sharing a room with. Speaking of rooms, what houses do you think that you guys will be sorted into?"

Jem looked at her feet, as did Stefan. "Slytherin." He said bluntly. "All our family have been sorted into Slytherin for nearly four hundred years."

Teddy opened his mouth and blurted: "Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, or Slytherin."

"Jeez," Jem spoke. "You've got three options open there, mate."

"Where do you think you'll be sorted?" Carrie asked.

"Fingers crossed not Slytherin. I have had family in that house who are horrid, horrid people."

"Well, you have the makings of a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor in you, Teddy. You could be a Gryffinpuff!" Carrie giggled.

Stefan and Teddy looked at Carrie as if she had two heads; Jem giggled also.

"A what?"

"Oh, never mind. It's a word I made up: it refers to someone who has the qualities of two houses."

"Oh!" Teddy and Stefan muttered in unison.

They all looked between each other. Teddy scoffed and began laughing, Stefan, Jem, and Carrie following suit.

Suddenly, the squeak of wheels, and the ever calling voice of "Anything from the trolley?!" rang out from the interior walls of the walkway. Luckily, Teddy left the compartment door ajar, so when the trolley-lady arrived, with a sweet smile and the "Anything from the trolley, dears?" moment passed, Teddy pulled out a small wallet that was nearly full of galleons, sickles, and knuts.

"We'll have sixteen Chocolate Frogs, twelve boxes of Bertie Botts, eight Cauldron Cakes, four Licorice Wands, and four Pumpkin Pasties, please?" Teddy reeled off the list, ever now and then catching surprised glimpses from Carrie's face.

With help fro Stefan, Teddy was able to take the great load of sweets into the compartment, slamming the door behind them both with his foot. Laying the bounty of confectionery delights before them all, they stared, drinking in the sight of the sweet. "Bugger! I almost forgot!" Teddy mumbled, before reaching into his bag, pulling out the box of charmed sweets that Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione gave him back on his birthday; placing the box amongst the other sweets, he grinned, "Ta-da!" Teddy exclaimed, grabbing a box of Bertie Botts and flopping down into his seat. "Enjoy the feast! It'll get you guys ready for what's to come later."

* * *

The sky had begun to darken when the express pulled into Hogsmeade. The new first years all gathers by their respective windows and gaazed out, trying to catch a glimpse of Hogwarts.

Teddy, Stefan, Carrie, and Jem arrived on the platform dressed in their new school uniforms, and still recovering from their sugary overload only a few hours before. They were jostled by passing students, and watched as the older years found other means of transport to the castle; Teddy noticed that the carriages housing fifth years were pulled by invisible things, but realising what was actually there was all the more saddening. "Thestrals," He mumbled.

"What?" Carrie asked.

"Thestrals are pulling those carriages, but they can only be seen by those who have seen death."

Carrie gaped. "That's awful. So those poor creatures never get noticed?"

"Yup."

"Again, that's awful. Those poor, poor creatures."

"Wha' creatures we talkin' 'bout, then?" The booming voice of the Game Keeper, Hagrid, loomed over the heads of the first years.

There was a mixture of gasps of awe and fear from the conjugated group of students, for they never expected such a man to be at a school.

"I'm Hagrid, an' I'll be bringin' you lot down ter Hogwarts, where y'all will be passed to the safe 'ands of Professor McGonagall." He said. Looking down, he noticed a familiar face. "Hello Ted."

"Hiya Hagrid."

"Excited fer the sortn'?"

"Yeah, I think we all are, really."

"Righ'. You lot, c'mon and follw me down ter the boats, now mind you don't ge' lost!" Hagrid called, and trudged along a mossy path that led to a small dock, where hundreds of boats laid in wait for the students. "Now, either two or three to a boat. No jostlin', you two!" Hagrid shouted to two boys.

* * *

As the boats bobbed alnog the water, there was vey little chatter amongst the new first years. They all gazed in wonder at their new destination, taking in all the sights, the new smells, and the news sounds that would make Hogwarts feel like a second home.

There was a small cry of "Look! Over there!" as a red-headed girl pointed out toward the castle that was now coming into view.

Teddy felt a feeling of warmth spread throguh his being, feeling like Hogwarts had already made a connection with him: the connection between and his parents was now becoming stronger every second as it ebbed and flowed in his heart. He felt like that he could call Hogwarts one thing.

Home.


	7. The Lion, The Snake, and The Badger

Waiting outside of the great hall, Teddy observed the other students there. And there weren't many: maybe fifteen or twenty, but he couldn't be certain. This moment gave Teddy a sudden thought about the Second Great Wizarding War; about the amount of people: children his age, even younger, who never got their Hogwarts letters, as well as all the students that were in their Sixth and Seventh years who never got to finish their time at Hogwarts; his mind wandered to Uncle Fred, who never got to be a father, or an uncle to so many brilliant kids. Teddy felt a tear fall from his cheek when he got a nudge from Carrie.

"Ted, you okay?"

Sniffing, he wiped away any trace of the fallen tear. "Yup, I'm fine. Just a little homesick, I guess."

Carrie nodded, and gave him a strange look before the doors squeaked open, revealing a little man with wrinkles and greying hair.

"Ah, so this must be Professor Flitwick," Teddy whispered to Stefan, Jem, and Carrie.

"Welcome, first years, to Hogwarts," His squeaky voice uttered. "Here, you will spend the next years making new memories, improving your magical abilities, as well as achieving House points. As you all know, the four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, will become like family to you. Your classroom and extra-curricular activities will help you win points, and any rule-breaking or misbehaving will have points taken away. Now if you'll all wait here for a few more moments whilst I get the other students ready." And with that, Professor Flitwick quickly walked out from the antechamber, his feet making small tapping noises on the stone floor.

"He looked like a right twat," said a cut-glass voice from the back of the group.

Everyone turned to face a tall boy with dark hair and hazel eyes. "What do any of you lot think about him?"

One girl spoke up. "My sister told me that the professor is the most adept wizard at charms that she had ever seen,"

"Really? If he's so 'adept' at charms, why can't he just charm his legs so he can see all of us? Hey, he could add some balls to those legs as well!" The boy laughed.

Teddy knew that that was the last straw. He stormed toward the boy: rage filled him till steam was flying out of his ears, and his hair aflame with red. "That professor that you were just taking the mick out of, yeah? He saved the lives of possibly hundreds of people, as he taught them how to stun Death Eaters and jinx the bad guys that wanted them dead, so the next time that you decide to mock a such a great man, then you'll have to answer to me, do you understand me?!"

The boy, looking a little pale, stepped back and didn't reply, however he gained a cold, iron-like glint in his eye.

"Forgot to ask on the train, Ted," Stefan began. "But what's with the hair?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, right, my hair. It's a Metamorphmagus thing."

"Come again?" Jem questioned.

"A Metamorphmagus. It's kind of genetic magic, really. I have the ability to change my appearance at will, so that could be my hair colour, my facial features, anything, within reason."

"Blessing or a curse?"

"Both, actually. It's a bitch when it comes to my emotions, however, they're a _huge_ give-away."

Jem nodded, "Huh. So like what you did with that guy over there? With your hair turning red, and all."

"Yup."

"Wicked."

A sharp tap on Jem's shoulder made her turn, to see Professor Flitwick putting his wand back into his pocket. "If you would all like to follow me please, the sorting ceremony is about to start."

* * *

The Great Hall looked more magnificent than everyone else had described it.

The night sky was charmed onto the ceiling, showing off the bright stars that shone, and the moon, looking almost full, illuminated the darkness of ceiling further, almost blocking out the flickering flames from the floating candles above the students' heads.

Teddy saw each table with the students looking at them all like vultures waiting to strike. He bumped into Stefan, and saw that everyone had stopped. In front of them, there was a stool, with a tatty looking hat sitting on its seat."

Before the Professor could begin to read off, however, the Hat opened its jagged, scar-like mouth, and began to sing:

" _I may be a silly old hat,_

_However, I am merely more than that_

_For you see, I can see inside your head,_

_Like you can when you dream in your bed._

_You may be seeing dreams like that of Gryffindor,_

_Wherein the brave dwell,_

_Those who are unafraid will surely do well._

_Dreams like that of Ravenclaw,_

_Are for the ones who are of a ready mind,_

_For those who seek knowledge, there is home ready for their kind._

_Slytherins have the dreams of the ambitious,_

_The friendships you forge there aren't fictitious!_

_Those Hufflepuffs are good-natured folk,_

_Therefore, their dreams, you see,_

_Are full of the thoughts of others like you and me!_

_There you have it, there you see,_

_Trying me on will tell you where you ought to be!"_

The Hat, with its song finished, sat silently whilst the older students clapped around it, some even cheering.

"Let us begin then," Professor Flitwick began. "Bentley, Tobias!"

The boy from earlier came forward; the Hat had not even touched his head before it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" - Of course, to the cheers and cries from the other Gryffindor students. Teddy was shocked by this: how could someone like Tobias, an arrogant, bullying toerag like him, be a Gryffindor? But, the Hat's word were final, so there was no changing houses.

"Callahan, Oliver!"

The Hat called "HUFFLEPUFF!" rousing cheers from the Hufflepuff table.

A few other students were called, and they all were made the newest additions to Ravenclaw, which came as a surprise to everyone, the Hat included. Professor Flitwick then called out another name, "Diggory, Carrie!"

As she emerged from the crowd, that's when people began to whisper.

_"Is that the Diggory girl?"_

_"I heard she was raised in the muggle world."_

_"She obviously going into Hufflepuff, just like her family. She's got an awful legacy behind her if she does get into Hufflepuff."_

Teddy saw that Carrie was nervous, as she was fumbling with the hem of her skirt, twisting the fabric over and over again between her fingers before she sat on the stool. The Hat, once placed on her head, remained silent and still for a few moments. Everyone in the hall waited for some sort of movement from the hat or Carrie, however their hope was dashed. A few more minutes passed before the Hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" into the silence of the hall.

Carrie was motionless for a moment till Professor Flitwick gave her a little nudge, point her towards the direction of the Slytherin table.

"Keenan-Lindsay, Jemima!"

"Jem, that's you," Stefan elbowed his twin forward. "Go on."

Jem gulped and walked forward. Breathing in, she sat on the stool, and waited for the Hat to be placed on her head. As it was, it burst with life, shouting "HUFFLEPUFF!" A mixture of surprise and happiness washed over Jem as she leapt off the stool to go and join the Hufflepuff table.

"Wow," Stefan spoke whilst the applause was still ongoing. "That's a surprise."

"Why?" Teddy asked. "Won't your parents be best pleased?"

"They'll be quite happy, actually. With Jem in Hufflepuff, and hopefully me not going into Slytherin, we'll get disowned by the family."

"Why will you get disowned?"

"Somewhere along our family tree, we're related to the Black family, but, the again, who isn't? That family is massive! Plus, our grandmother on our father's side is a muggle-born, so our great grandparents aren't too happy with us anyway."

Teddy nodded, feeling shocked and confused at the information he was given. _Disowning just falling in love? That's a bit extreme._

Whilst being captured in his thoughts, Teddy had just caught the end of Stefan's sorting, and seen Stefan head towards the Ravenclaw table. Catching Stefan's eye, Teddy beamed at his friend and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Lucas, Jacob!" became a the next Gryffindor, as did "Lawrence, Meghan!" then –

"Lupin, Edward!"

Again, the awkward silence and small whispers arose.

He gulped and walked toward the stool, seeing that he would now be sitting in front of the whole school made Teddy nervous. Crossing his fingers tightly, he sat down, and let the Hat be placed on his head.

"Well now," spoke a small voice in his ear. "This is difficult. I see that you have the potential to be great, and plenty of courage. Gryffindor seems the place for you, dear boy. However, I see just as much loyalty as there is courage. Hmm. Where shall I put you? Again, difficult, very difficult..."

"Anything will do, but just no Slytherin," Teddy whispered.

"Not Slytherin, eh? I can see it in you, you know, your ambition to beat the label of being Lupin's son, your cunning through your mother's gift of disguise?! Slytherin seems to be the house for you!" The Hat paused for a moment. Teddy felt like it was one of the longest moments of his life. "I know! Better be... HUFFLEPUFF!"

Teddy felt pride and shock wash over him as he made his way over to the Hufflepuff table with his mind exploding and dancing like fireworks all over, his joy was overwhelming him. He saw that Jem had made a space for him on the bench; as he sat, his fellow Hufflepuffs stared at him in wonder.

"What?" Teddy asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," said a Third-year. "It's your hair! Wow, that's a pretty cool trick!"

Teddy turned to Jem. "Seriously, what's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing," Jem giggled. "It's just that your hair has turned yellow and black."

"Oh, really?" Teddy yanked a spoon from his dish and gazed at his reflection, noticing that Jem was right. "Oh, sorry about that." He shook his head, and looked at his reflection again and saw that his hair had returned to its normal shade of blue.

As he turned to face the front, there was only a handful of people left. A boy named Amir had just been sorted into Hufflepuff, and Teddy felt obliged to make Amir a seat next to him.

"Cheers mate," spoke Amir, beaming widely.

* * *

With the sorting complete, everyone began to mumble amongst themselves before there was the ding of a glass.

"Can I have your attention, please?" Professor Flitwick called.

Professor McGonagall stood up from her Headmistress' seat and spoke clearly: "Let the feast begin." She clapped her hands together, and the food erupted in front of the students.

The newest students gasped at the display of food in front of them, whilst the older ones started to dig into the array before them. There was any food that your heart desired (apart from fast food) and catered for anyone and everyone: from Muslims to Vegans (it was a new thing that the House Elves were still trying to get their heads around, according to the Fat Friar).

Teddy had helped himself to some chicken drumsticks, a couple slices of bacon, a large spoonful of mash potatoes, and a slice of cheese called Halloumi (which turned out to taste very nice, although it had the texture of rubber).

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Jem asked.

"Well, that's why I chose these items of food – duh!"

Amir spoke up, "I guess she really means that it's an odd combination of food," Amir tucked into his roast dinner, content with enjoying his food.

"Bet you a sickle that you don't eat all of it," Jem smiled, pretty sure of herself.

Teddy grinned wickedly, "Sure. If I can eat all of that and dessert, then its two sickles. Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

After clearly his plate, plus eating a bowl of jelly and ice-cream, Teddy won, much to the dismay of Jem.

"Pay up," He spoke. Teddy could feel all the filling food sitting in the pit of his stomach, making him feel uncomfrotable, and silently wishing he hadn't eaten so much.

Suddenly, all the plate and dessert food disappeared from the tables, leaving them as spotless as they were when the first years entered the hall. Porfessor McGonagall walked gracefully up to the owl-masted podium, dutifully waiting for silence.

"Before I begin, I would like to welcome you all safely to another year at Hogwarts," She began. "It is very nice to see everyone after the long summer that we have all had, and I hope that you all have stories to tell later this evening, however, a few notices must be told before you leave this hall tonight." Professor McGonagall removed her glasses and polished them quickly before putting them back on. "I have been reminded by Mr Filch, our caretaker, that any products like Fanged Frisbees, Skiving Snackboxes, or the like are forbidden items: if they are found in a student's possession, they will be confiscated, and the students will be placed into a detention for disobeying the school rules, and endangering everyone due to their thoughtlessness."

There was rumbling from several groups of students amongst each table, pointing out the obvious ones to the Professor's attention.

"Also, any student spiking another's with any sort of potion will be made to clean out the leech tanks and rat cages - that notice came from Professor Slughorn. And finally tonight, I would like to welcome our new, and hopefully permanent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Mitsuko Akami."

A slender witch with electric-blue highlights stood up, smiling a cheeky grin and waving whilst the student all applauded.

Professor McGonagall continued, "Professor Akami joins us from the Mahoutokoro School of Magic, where she has been teaching for the Defence Against the Dark Arts for past ten years, and has travelled the world to teach other schools, therefore has gained lots of experience. I would like to ask if you could all give the professor a warm welcome," Again, the students and staff applauded.

"Now, after that, could the prefects please take their respective students to the dormitories, thank you."

* * *

The Hufflepuff prefect guide, Kayleigh Goodman, bought all students to a nook on the right hand side of the kitchen corridor.

"Right you guys," Kayleigh smiled. "This is the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room,"

"But it's just a load of barrels! How is that an entrance?" shouted Oliver Callahan.

"Aha, that's where you're wrong. You need to tap a certain barrel to get in," Kayleigh got out her wand and pointed at a barrel that was two from the bottom, and in the middle of the second row. "You all have to remember where the barrel is, okay? Also, you have to tap this barrel to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' - did you know that we're the only house at Hogwarts that also has a repelling device for would-be intruders? If the wrong lid is tapped, or if you're doing the tapping wrong, the illegal entrant is doused in vinegar."

"So that means that our common room is the least-likely to be burgled?" asked Teddy.

"Yeah, pretty neat, huh?"

Kayleigh tapped, and the door to the barrel swung open, revealing the entrance to the common room. "We've got to crawl along a passage way behind the door to get into the cosiest common room in the school!" She clambered into the opening, and began to crawl, with Jem following her, then Teddy, then the others who watched.

As Teddy entered the common room, he was surprised to find that there was a lot of plants and burnished cooper hanging around the room, with little round Hobbit-sized doors leading no doubt to the dormitories. There were also squashy sofas decorated in yellow and black.

"Is everyone here? Good," Kayleigh nodded. "This is the Hufflepuff common room. As you can see, it's cozy, from the low ceilings to the large fireplace. Professor Sprout, our Head of House, is our Herbology teacher, so from time-to-time she'll bring in some new plants for us all to see. These doors that you see on each side of the room lead to your dormitories, with the girls on the right and the boys on the left. All your belongings have been bought up, with your uniforms laid out for you. In each room, there's a cooper lamp lighting the room, with the fourposter beds covered in patchwork quilts, there's also some cooper warming pans in each room as well, just in case any of your tootsies get cold. Any questions?"

"What would happen if a boy tried to get into the girls' dormitories and vice versa?" someone called out.

"Um, I don't really know, because it's never really happened before."

Amir raised his hand, "Where are the bathrooms?"

"All the bathrooms are adjacent to the dormitories, so don't worry. Are there any more questions?"

There was silence.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys to either mooch around here, or you can go to your dorms." And with that, Kayleigh left.

* * *

Teddy, Oliver, Amir, and another boy named Tristan clubbed together to be in one of the dorms.

With Oliver curled up with his cat Socks on his lap, and Amir with his owl Soraya perched on a chair, all the boys idly chatted with each other, finding out about each other. Tristan was a Muggle-Born wizard from Wales with a younger sister called Angela; Oliver was a Pureblood, with a Squib older brother called Lawrence who worked as a Muggle lawyer; Amir grew up in Afghanistan for a few years before his Wizard father became part of the International Magical Cooperation council, he and his family moved out to London; for Teddy, however, it was difficult to tell the other boys that his father was a werewolf and his mother a witch descended from one of the oldest and incestuous wizarding families, but he pushed on to tell them.

"So yeah, my dad was a werewolf, who was the starting point for getting the Lycanthrope Registration Act up and running, and with my Aunt Hermione upfront with the affairs of Magical Creatures, she's an advocate for getting Lycanthropes and others like them integrated in the Wizarding World without fear."

"Wow," Oliver said. "Your the nephew of Hermione Granger? She's my hero!"

"She was the one to get my cousin Jamie out of hiding after his werewolf attack last year," Tristan spoke. "Is there any chance I could meet her? I'd love to tell her of my gratitude for the work she's done."

For the rest of the night, there was revelation after revelation about each boy that sat in that room. It wasn't until midnight before they all snuggled into their beds and drifted off peacfully, awaiting their first full day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary.


	8. Looking to Be A Promising Student

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little rusty with timings for classes at Hogwarts, so please bear that in mind with the hours and timings being a little all over the place. I'm going off of my own experiences of being a student in the UK, but I also have to be aware that I didn't have to deal with a large castle as the school building and constantly moving staircases!

"WAKE UP GUYS! WAKE UP!" Oliver shouted as he pelted everyone with an object.

Teddy groaned and rolled over, pulling his duvet over his head. "It's too early, Ollie, please go back to sleep."

"Ted, c'mon! It's only half-past seven! The sun has come up, and I can hear birds twittering. If we get to the Great Hall soon, we can get some breakfast before everyone else takes it!"

"Ollie, mate, as much as we all love food," Amir spoke. "we'd like it if you'd just let us sleep for five more minutes..." He trailed off before falling asleep, snoring.

Audible groans floated from the other dormitories, with Kayleigh Goodman shouting: "GOOD MORNING HUFFLEPUFFS! RISE AND SHINE!" The boys huffed, rolling out of their beds, and headed towards their small bathroom.

Tristan was quick, being in and out of the bathroom in a flash. It seemed that Oliver was the last boy out of the bathroom, "you lot took all the hot water!" He replied when the other boys complained. Teddy's hair was unwilling to behave, even when they all left the room, his hair was still changing colour.

"Hiya Ted," Jem grinned as she met them in the common room. Her black hair was tucked away into a style something that Victoire would like. "Sleep well?"

"Meh, okay, I guess," He answered, still irritated at his ever-changing hair.

"Seems like you've got a handful today, haven't you Teddy? Y'know, with your hair and all," Jem giggled.

* * *

Breakfast was a melee of reaching arms and stabbing cutlery. Plus, owls came swooping in over head every-now-and-then, dropping letters and other paraphernalia. Teddy was hopeful to see any letters coming from his grandmother or Uncle Harry.

"You got anything? Tristan? Amir? Ollie?" Teddy asked, biting into his toast.

"I just got a 'hope you got there safe' note from my mum," said Oliver.

Tristan shook his head, "Nah, haven't got anything. Parents are still trying to get used to having an owl in the house."

"Amir? What about you?" Oliver questioned.

"Just a long letter from my parents. My dad is just telling me to remember my daily prayers and what not."

"Jeez, all that?"

Amir shook his head. "My mum just said that she hopes that my journey here was safe, and that I've made friends."

"Wow, all that on one page?!" Tristan exclaimed, looking at Amir's letter.

He nodded in reply.

Kayleigh came up to them, her smiling face brightening up the grey walls of the hall. "Good morning, boys," She said. "Had a good night's sleep?"

They nodded, finishing their breakfasts up.

"Great, I have your timetables here, so don't be late." Kayleigh walked down the table.

The four boys reached out for their timetables. Teddy stared at his, hoping to find any exciting lessons for himself:

_9.00AM - 11.00AM: Transfiguration_

_11.10AM - 12.00PM: Study Period_

_~ LUNCH ~_

_1.10PM - 2.20PM: Potions_

_2.10 PM- 3.20:PM Charms_

_3.40PM - 5.00PM: Study Period_

_12.00AM - 1.00AM: Astronomy_

* * *

Teddy and the other first-years sat in Transfiguration, waiting for the professor to arrive.

"Where do you think McGonagall is?" Ollie asked.

Teddy shrugged, as if he did not know the answer. But he did: at the front of the classroom sat an old grey tabby cat.

A sharp breeze caught the students' attention, alongside a small, wheezy cough.

"Good morning, first-years," Professor McGonagall spoke, looking around through her spectacles.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," The class replied in unison.

Tristan sat in stunned silence, trying to understand what he had just seen. "That was bloody brilliant,"

Professor McGonagall smiled at Tristan's comment. "I am glad of your positive assessment," She smiled. "but I must remind you to think upon of your choice of words,"

"Yes professor," Tristan answered, sitting down in his seat.

Professor McGonagall stood at her desk. "I trust that you all had found this classroom in an efficient manner," She paused. "Now, the art of Transfiguration is a difficult one, so therefore I am not going to coat it in sugar for you all."

The professor continued her speech for nearly half of the lesson.

By the end, nearly all students had successfully turned their matchsticks into needles, well, nearly all, for Carrie had trouble, because she would almost always end up with a pointy stick.

* * *

Teddy and his friends didn't really mind their study period,; but trying not to talk and distract each other was practically impossible.

The boys had to be reprimanded by Professor Slughorn on many occasions over the hour, and were cuffed up the ears by Jem. "Do you all know that we hav to be quite, or we'll lose house points?"

Tristan snorted. "C'mon, Jem, really? I mean, are the teachers really _that_ disciplined?"

"Mr Yousef! Five points from Hufflepuff for your lack of respect for the rules of your Study Period." Professor Flitwick, their Charms professor, called out.

The five groaned. "Thanks Amir!" Ollie grumbled, getting back to his Transfiguration homework.

* * *

Potions was not as bad as Teddy thought it was be.

He was paired with Scottie Maas (not by his own choice), a boy from Ravenclaw. Teddy was nervous at first, thinking that he may be has no aptitude for Potions at all, but as the lesson progressed, Teddy discovered that he wasn't half-bad at Potions; not as good as his grandmother or Aunt Hermione, but was mediocre.

"Now, I want you all to brew for me today the Cure for Boils. It's a simple enough potion. Just follow the instructions in your textbooks, and hopefully you'll all be on your way to becoming excellent potion makers!"

Like the professor had told the, it was a simple potion, but it was trying for some. Hadley Jones and Maddie Langley from Ravenclaw had somehow spilt their whole cauldron on the floor, and had to be escorted to the Hospital Wing, as horrific boils had started to appear on their feet.

Amir and Tristan weren't having much luck either, as their potion was bright yellow, and giving off a nasty smell: something that resembles maybe rotting fish or rotten eggs.

Naturally, Stefan and Jem paired-up, noting that their adept abilities at Potions would serve them well in the lesson, and they were lucky, as both had brewed the potion successfully, and had two small vials prepared for when the professor came around. "This is marvellous!" He said. "Absolutely marvellous! You both might as well take these to Mr Jones and Miss Langley in the Hospital Wing. Hop to it now,"

Ollie and his partner, Jodie Gilbert, were doing all right. Their potion was brewing nicely, and they had no trouble with making it. And that was before the cauldron had begun to melt. Jodie was sobbing by the end of the lesson, as her new cauldron had been ruined, and it was only her first day at Hogwarts.

"Now, now, my dear, don't be upset," Professor Slughorn spoke to her. "I'm sure I have a spare cauldron somewhere, let me have a look, and I'll get you smiling again, don't you worry about that."

* * *

Charms, they all found that day, was a fun lesson. Professor Flitwick fell quickly in love with Teddy's metamorphmagus ability, as Teddy was changing the colour of his hair at ever moment he could get in the lesson.

"Mr Lupin, you are looking to be a promising student in the future," Professor Flitwick squeaked before dismissing the class.

* * *

During dinner, Professor McGonagall gave some interesting news: "This year, we are hosting our very first Quidditch team trials for the First Years," She paused as she listened to the hurried whispers that erupted from the students. "I know it may seem unconventional, seeing as we have a no broomstick-policy for first years, but, Madam Hooch and I have decided to make an exception."

Madam Hooch, a woman with short, wiry grey hair and eyes of a hawk, rose from her seat for just a moment. "If there are any queries about this, ask your house's team captain, or come and ask me or the Headmistress."

Teddy turned to face his friends, and watched smiles spread on their faces.

"You all thinking what I'm thinking?" Amir grinned.

"Oh Merlin, yes!" They all cheered, catching disappointed looks from both Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout.

Professor McGonagall continued, "Each of the trials, it has been decided, will be on days that have been allocated to each house, again, you will have to ask your house's team captain for that information."

* * *

Astronomy wasn't as _bad_ as Teddy and the others originally thought, but it felt as if the lesson dragged on for hours. As kind and helpful as Professor Trelawney was trying to be with the class, looking at the stars and trying to figure out the basics of what house Jupiter was in or the alignment with Mars and the constellation of Lyra meant this, that, or the other.

When it reached one o'clock in the morning, and almost all of the class were drooling or snoring over their work, Professor Trelawney called the lesson to a close. "I have some tea for you all tonight," The professor waved her wand to pour out some beige-coloured tea into cracked and chipped teacups. "After a long day, and a harrowing for some of you, I trust that this soothing tea with gift you all with a delightful sleep."

Jem hung back, "Why are you giving us these drinks Professor?" She asked, taking one of the offered cups.

Professor Trelawney gulped, fixing her thick-rimmed glasses on her nose. "During the years after the Second Great Wizarding War, many of the students suffered from terrible nightmares, such horridly crippling panic and anxiety attacks that Professor McGonagall ordered that each student was to be given a tincture of chamomile tea mixed with poppy juice. It is something I always give to my Astronomy students,"

"Wow," Amir burbled into his drink. "That's very kind of you to do that for us, Professor."

"My, my, look at the time! Off to bed now, all of you," The professor shooed the first years out of her classroom upon seeing the time.

* * *

Teddy, Amir, Tristan, and Oliver fell into their beds when they reached their dormitory.

As they all drifted off peacefully, with thanks to the tea that Professor Trelawney gave them all, Teddy briefly smiled: _I have just had my first full day at Hogwarts_.

He let his eyelids droop until Teddy was softly snoring.


	9. The Makings of A Chaser

It was their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Akami, and everyone was buzzing.

Jem and Ollie had been talking about the lesson non-stop all of Monday night after Astronomy. Their constant chatter nearly set the whole common room mad with irritation before they both stopped.

Starting off your second day at Hogwarts with Defence Against the Dark Arts was similar to your birthday and Christmas morning being rolled into one day. And that was magical, to say the least.

They all waited for Professor Akami, with their wands laid neatly before them.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, gakuseito-tachi" chirped Professor Akami; she giggled when she met the confused stares of her class. "Good morning, students," she repeated.

There were mumbles of 'hello', 'hey, professor', or simply: 'hmpf'.

"I am glad to be a recipient of such a warm welcome. Today, we begin with basic defensive spells."

Ollie and Jem grasped their wands, ready to being the duel.

"Thank you for volunteering," The professor let out a musical laugh. "I want you all to move your desks,"

Almighty scraping noises could be heard as the first-years completed the task.

Professor Akami turned to Ollie. "Now, I would like...?"

"Oliver Callahan, Professor. But everyone calls me 'Ollie'," He spoke proudly.

"Mr Callahan, here, to stand opposite this young lady, here." The professor bought Jem to stand ten feet away from Ollie. Standing away from the two, she bought out her wand. "Now, on the word of command, I would like the young lady to say 'stupefy',"

Teddy looked on, wide-eyed. _That's quite a spell t be starting us off on the first lesson_ , he thought, _I don't want to take him to the Hospital Wing._

Jem seemed unsure about the task. "This is a bit of a full-on spell for the first lesson, Professor, don't you think?"

The professor gave a wicked grin. "The Gryffindor's I had yesterday didn't seem to mind,"

Jem sighed and readied her wand with obvious reluctance.

"Brilliant! Now, look at your target. Think hard about where you want this spell to land. I want you to focus on putting strong, emotional energy into this stunning spell, okay?"

Jem nodded.

"On the count of three; one... two... THREE...!"

"STUPEFY!" Jem shouted.

A red bolt of lighting shot out from the end of Jem's wand. The whole class looked on in awe as it zoomed along the classroom, sending Ollie flying backwards a few feet.

There was a loud BANG as Ollie's small stature hit the entrance door. Teddy, Tristan, Amir, and Jem all rushed to their friend's aid. "Ollie? Are you okay?" Amir asked.

"Ollie, mate, you alright?" Tristan spoke.

Teddy crouched in front of Ollie, shaking his shoulder gently. "Ollie? Ollie, can you hear me?"

His head lulled forward, showing the small dent in the door.

"Is Mr Callahan okay?" Professor Akami questioned.

"He's most likely unconscious, Professor," Jodie Gilbert said. "We're going to have to take him to Madame Pomfrey."

* * *

Ollie spent most of the morning in the Hospital Wing. During lunch, Teddy and the others all went to visit.

"How are you feeling, dude?" Jem asked. She was quite nervous in being there, as she was the reason Ollie had wound up in the wing in the first place.

Ollie carefully bobbed his head. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some stitches, as I got a bit of a nasty scrape from hitting the door,"

"I don't understand why that silly woman decided to give a demonstration using students!" Madame Pomfrey bustled in, carrying a small tray of potions and remedies. She handed Ollie a small glass of orange liquid. "Drink."

Ollie took the glass without any fuss and downed the potion in a gulp. "What was that for?"

"Just a new remedy to help with head injuries." Madame Pomfrey replied. "My! Look at the time! All of you, shoo! I have a sick boy here!"

They said their good-byes before vacating the wing in fits of giggles.

* * *

"Good afternoon, first years," Professor Sprout said. "And welcome to your first Herbology lesson."

The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors lined a long wooden table.

"Now, I want you all to pair off, and grab one of the trays,"

Teddy paired off with Jem, leaving Tristan and Amir to become a three with Jodie Gilbert.

Professor Sprout called the class to attention. "Now, can anyone tell me what plants are in this tray?"

"I see carrots, radishes, potatoes, and some onions, Professor," Tobias Bentley smirked.

"Now, now, be serious, please."

The lesson continued, with ten points awarded to Hufflepuff after Ollie identified the plants. The professor set them their task of noting the special properties of the plants.

Tobias started to annoy some students by flicking dirt at them. There were groans and hisses in Tobias' direction as his actions increased.

"Sod off!" Jem growled as a small handful hit her face.

"I'm sorry, what? Get back to your work, Jem," Tobias said innocently.

He grabbed a fistful of dirt and flung it in Jem's direction once more.

She slammed her work down. "THAT'S IT!" She exclaimed as she threw some dirt back at him.

"JEMIMA! STOP THIS NONSENSE AT ONCE!" cried Professor Sprout. "I am very ashamed of you, as the head of your house. Ten points from Huffelpuff, and you will be in spending part of this evening in a detention with me."

Jem huffed. She completed her work, not speaking for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

At half-past three, the first-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws met begin their first flying lesson.

"Good afternoon, first-years."

"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch," The students replied.

"Now, welcome to your first flying lesson. I have some special guests with me today: Henry Murray and Angelina Brown."

Henry, a fifth-year Ravenclaw, and Angelina, a sixth-year Hufflepuff, stepped forward.

"They both are captains for their houses Quidditch teams."

"Today we're going to act as scouts for those students who have potential," Henry spoke.

"We won't be deciding on who definitely has a place on the teams, but it'll tell us who might be in the running for a place." Angelina said.

"Right, good." Madame Hooch nodded. "I want you all to stand on the right of your brooms, stick your left hand out, and say 'up' in a stern, clear voice."

The students did so, with only a few managing to achieve their goal on the first try. Ollie and Amir were part of those few.

Teddy was having some difficulty, as his broom was rolling around on the ground. "Up!" He voiced, watching as the broom flew up into his hand. He looked around at his friends to see Stefan's broom still milling about and Jem just caught her broom. Tristan was still struggling by the time Madame Hooch told them to stop.

"Now, mount your brooms," She began. "And give a sharp kick off of the ground; hover for a few moments, then lean forward to bring your broom to the ground. Understand? On my whistle: three-two-one!" Madame Hooch blew her whistle.

A small handful of students were able to float before landing on the ground. Teddy gave one small jolt, and went speeding into the air.

Ten feet. Fifteen feet. Twenty feet. He rose quickly before his broom came to a sharp halt. Teddy hovered before he saw students surround the classroom windows, and could see owls swoop around the Owlery.

"MR LUPIN! MR LUPIN, COME DOWN AT ONCE!" Madame Hooch screamed.

Gulping, Teddy leant forward and zoomed down towards them (not without making a few sharp and smooth corners first).

As he landed, Teddy was met with a furious Madame Hooch, and an impressed Angelina Brown.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I really am," Teddy said, looking down at his feet in shame. "I didn't mean to go that high,"

"I am shocked-no-astounded that you did not fly back immediately," Madame Hooch stammered. "I would say you should be put in detention, but with your skills as you came down, well, they were-"

"Brilliant." Angelina grinned.

As Madame Hooch dismissed the class, Angelina pulled Teddy aside. "You have the makings of a fine Chaser, I'm impressed. But you've got to prove it to the others. You, Quidditch pitch, Friday. You got that?"

Teddy was beaming. "Yeah, I got it. See you Friday, then."

* * *

Ollie was shocked. "Can't believe that you've been asked to join the Quidditch team!"

"I haven't made the team yet, gimme a break," Teddy laughed.

The four boys sat in the common room, completing homework and snacking on Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. They had been waiting for Jem to come back from her detention with Professor Sprout.

"But seriously, Ted, that's amazing!" Amir took a bean, but grimaced as he bit into it. "Blergh! I got a liver one,"

Tristan happily chewed on his. "I got toast this time,"

"Merlin, you're the lucky one! I'm always stuck with the nasty ones." Ollie reached into the box and picked out a swamp-green coloured bean. "Wow, that's an alright taste,"

"What did you get?" Teddy asked.

"Olive."

The three boys nodded. "Cool."

The door to the common room opened to reveal a stony-faced Jem. "I have had the worst evening."

"What happened?"

Jem flopped onto the sofa next to Ollie. "Professor Sprout made me re-pot the madrakes, then she had me fertilise the tentacular plants. Urgh! I hate Tobias!"

"I know this prob'ly won't improve your mood," Amir said. "But have you done the Potions homework for Slughorn?"

"No, not yet, why?"

"Because it's due tomorrow,"

"Argh!" Jem moaned before sighing into the sofa. "Can I copy off of one of you guys?"


	10. Full Moon

Angelina prompted Teddy at dinner that evening to meet her for Quidditch trials. "Don't forget to dress in something warm. It maybe September, but it's quite chilly out tonight."

Teddy bid goodbye to the others at the table. "I might see some of you there?"

"Yup," Jem smiled with her mouthful. "Can Carrie come along? I haven't had the chance to speak to her since we arrived on Tuesday."

"Sure." Teddy shrugged as he left for the Hufflepuff common room.

* * *

"Alright you lot," Angelina shouted. "Last year we were able to win the Quidditch Cup for the second year, so let's try and make it a three-year streak."

"We're going to be putting you through some basic drills," Kieran Newton, the Seeker, spoke. "Afterwards, we're going to put on a game, and see how you all do individually."

Angelina piped up. "Also, just because you were on the team last year does not guarantee you a place this year. Are we clear?"

There was a general mumble amongst the large group.

"Okay, let's get started."

* * *

Teddy was exhausted. He met Tristan and Amir a couple of times during the recent drill, and they both voiced their weariness as well.

Angelina split them all up so they could run a trial game. "The first team to score fifty points, or catch the 'golden snitch', wins the game." She blew her whistle, and the melee began.

Teddy was one of the Chasers, alongside two fourth-years. Tristan was a beater on his team, and Amir was a beater on the trial opposition. Angelina herself was referee, with Kieran as the Golden Snitch.

He had caught and passed the Quaffle a few times, but wasn't lucky enough to be one to score any points. One of the fourth-years tossed the Quaffle towards him: "Make it count!" They yelled. Teddy took this chance to zoom forward, towards the goals. He dodged a Bludger, and efficiently teased the opposition's Chasers.

"Throw it Ted!" He heard Jem shout to him.

Teddy launched the Quaffle, watching it fly effortlessly into the goal.

Angelina blew her whistle. "KIERAN'S TEAM WINS WITH SIXTY POINTS TO THIRTY!"

Each team fluttered down to the field to meet Teddy, all cheering.

"That was awesome, Ted," Amir hurrahed. "Truly amazing."

"Nice one dude," Someone said, ruffling his hair.

"Wow, Teddy, that was pretty impressive," Kieran told him.

Angelina grinned as she met Teddy. "I've got to hand it to you, Teddy, that's something I would expect Ginny Weasley to pull off,"

Teddy seemed gobsmacked by her words. "Thanks!"

Kieran interrupted. "No problem. Right, its nine o'clock, so we're going to call it there, guys."

"We'll have the team sheet in the common room by tomorrow night or Sunday morning. If you do make the team, your name and position will be on the sheet." Angelina said. "To the first years that cam along, as much as we'd love to have you, rules are rules. See this more as a taste of what's in store for you guys next year!"

* * *

Teddy, Amir, and Tristan met Ollie, Stefan, Jem, and Carrie as they left the pitch.

"There's no way that you're not going to get on the team, mate," Ollie said. "That throw was incredible."

"C'mon, it wasn't _that_ brilliant, was it? It was just a well-aimed throw."

"Aw, look at you being all humble and modest," Carrie cooed and mussed Teddy's hair up.

Teddy laughed along with his friends as they walked back up to the castle.

* * *

It was 11 o'clock, and Teddy was getting restless.

He was always restless during a full moon. Sometimes he'd get crippling migraines. Other times he get a case of wanting to eat everything. Teddy knew he couldn't help it, it was in his genes.

It was Fenrir Greyback that caused all this. Remus Lupin wouldn't have never been put through the pain of being a werewolf, if he hadn't been bitten. Nor would Teddy. He had always felt like he would be treated differently if everyone found out who his father was. However, the boys treated him as if he was any other boy: and that made all the difference.

Rolling around, Teddy tried to make himself comfortable, but he just couldn't. Giving up, he exited the dormitory and headed for the door to the common room. Teddy darted out of the door quickly, without making a sound. Sighing in relief of his escape, he remembered: _he'd left his wand in his room._ "Bollocks." He groaned.

Teddy sat outside the kitchens, wondering what he was going to do. He then thought of Professor Minerva McGonagall. He ran along the corridor till he knew that he was lost.

"Oooo look: an ickle firsty!" A squeaky voice whispered in the dark. Peeves the Poltergeist. "An ickle firsty out of bed! Ought to tell Filch about yousies!" He giggled devilishly.

"C'mon Peeves," Teddy sighed. "I just need to find McGonagall's office. Do you know where it is?"

Peeves screwed up his nose and placed his hands on his hips.

"Hm," Teddy considered. "I won't tell Slughorn that you're stealing his potion ingredients if you help me."

Peeve blew a raspberry and disappeared with a pop.

Teddy huffed and walked on, hoping to find his way.

* * *

Hoping to come across a secret passageway or door during his search. Teddy tried to move any or all statues that he approached. He gave up after the fifth statue.

He was close to giving up, willing to give into the moon madness. But a rough, purring meow from behind him alerted him to Filch, the caretaker.

"Now," The wizened old Squib rasped. "What have we got here, my sweet?" He questioned Mrs Norris - the cat that anyone and everyone would just _love_ to drop kick into the Black Lake.

Mrs Norris meowed in response.

"Oh dear: we are in trouble." Filch gave a grim grin before dragging Teddy towards Professor McGonagall's office.

* * *

"Professor, I found this student here our of bed, after hours." Filch heaved as he placed Teddy in front of Professor McGonagall's desk.

"Well thank you, Mr Filch, I'll take it from here," Professor McGonagall smiled, showing Filch the door. As he left with a laboured chuckle, the professor turned to Teddy: "Why are you out of bed? You should know better, Mr Lupin,"

Teddy sighed and looked at his feet.

"You've got nothing to say for yourself?" Professor McGonagall as taken aback.

"It's just, well, I'm having trouble sleeping, that's all." He said.

"Most first-years have trouble sleeping like yourself. It's all down to homesickness, Mr Lupin. Now, if you would kindly go back to your common room," Professor McGonagall showed him the door, much like she had with Filch.

"It's because it's the full moon, Professor," Teddy burst out.

The professor looked at Teddy, compassion filling her old, tired eyes. "I once knew a young man who said exactly the same thing, Mr Lupin." She let Teddy have a seat, and offered him some tea.

"Have a biscuit, Lupin," She said offering him a tin of Ginger Newts.

Teddy happily took one and nibbled at it.

Professor McGonagall poured herself some tea and began her story. "When your father was a student, he would visit to me sometimes, saying he was homesick. Eventually, I grew to understand that 'homesick' meant 'moon sick'."

Teddy nodded.

"Your father and his friends used to joke about a 'furry problem'. I never understood till he started to regularly visit me during his fifth year."

The professor continued till dawn light shining through the high windows.

"Gracious! Look at the time! You have to be back in bed, Mr Lupin," She shuffled him towards the door.

As he began to leave, Teddy asked, "What's the password to the griffin?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"The griffin. I know there's a password to get up here, what is it? For future visits, of course, Professor," He grinned devilishly.

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes at his charm. "Sherbet Lemon."

"Also, Professor, could you let me back into my common room? You see, I've left mine on my bedside table." He told her, a sheepish and awkward smile on his face.

The professor rolled her eyes again. "What am I going to do about you, Mr Lupin?"


	11. Hallowe'en

The common room was all buzzing as the boys woke up. The team sheet had been posted by Angelina.

There was a wave of second- and third-years that Teddy recognised from 

Amir was violently shaking Teddy awake on the Sunday morning. "Teddy! Wake up! The team list is up!"

Teddy rose his head from his covers; his eyes still weary from sleep. "Wha-?"

"C'mon, the team list is up!" Amir pulled him out of bed, inconsiderate about Teddy's sate of dress.

As Amir pulled Teddy along, he could hear the amount of noise that was coming from the common room; a large crowd of people that had surrounded the notice board, jumping and shouting madly. A gaggle of fourth-years were consoling their friend, who clearly didn't make it.

Gazing at the untidy scribble on the sheet, Teddy couldn't make out his or the names of his friends. And while that didn't matter to him, Teddy could clearly see the hurt cloud Amir's eyes. "Cheer up Amir, just because we can't make the list this year, doesn't mean we should just give up."

However the defeat didn't move from the frown in his friend's forehead. "Baba won't be pleased."

"He does understand that first-years aren't allowed on the team, right?"

"Well... he does, sort of." Amir replied. "I guess I'll have to send an owl and see what he says."

* * *

Amir remained melancholy to the rest of the evening. He didn't take part in anything that was going on in the common room: the homework group, a game of Exploding Snap. Not even Wizard's Chess with Jem - which was his favourite game.

His owl Soraya suddenly flew in, and dropped a letter on Jem's bishop as it made a move. "Oi you!" Its little voice called out. "I can't bloody well see now!"

Amir snatched the letter from the board and ran away to their room.

"What's up with him?" A third-year yawned.

"Not sure," Teddy said, racing after his friend. He knocked on the door. "Amir? Amir, it's Ted, can you open the door for me please?"

There was a loud sigh that came as his answer. Amir then opened the door: "Baba's okay with it." He beamed.

* * *

The weather had gotten colder as the days grew shorter. Some snow had been seen drifting around the school grounds here and there, but never the flurry that the students were looking for.

As it was approaching Hallowe'en, the organisation for celebration feast was becoming mad: Professor Flitwick charming pumpkins to float, Hagrid and Professor Sprout growing large pumpkins for the house elves in the kitchens to bake into delicious pies, even Professor McGonagall had some part in the celebration plans.

The students were growing ever more excited as each day in October passed. They all chatted animatedly to the first-years about what to expect.

"They have the ghosts try and spook everyone, but Peeves is the worst this time of year: he always has a new trick up his sleeve, so you better be careful of him." One Slytherin seventh-year was telling a large group of first-years one Friday afternoon.

Teddy and Tristan had begun attending Quidditch practice three times a week, as well. The boys sat in the stands, wrapped up in their scarves and with charmed mugs of hot chocolate to keep them warm. Amir joined them only a small handful of times.

Angelina had organised it so that the Hufflepuff team had the most time to practice, as they were the house to have the most new members. It was fun to watch as the team grew stronger and stronger with each session. Teddy could see that the rate of catching and passing had markedly improved in the two second-year Chasers.

"Okay, chaps," Angelina said after one practice. "We've got our first game coming up next week, and we're playing Ravenclaw."

There was an audible groan from some. "Why?" Kenny Greene, their fourth-year Seeker, asked. "They always whoop our arses. Why do we have to play them first?"

"If you have a problem with it, Kenny," Angelina became stern. "They you can kiss that Snitch goodbye."

Kenny stopped talking after that.

"Alright. I paid one of our first-years to go and spy on the team on one of their training nights. I found out that their Seeker is _fast_. Can catch the Snitch in the first five minutes of the game."

Angelina explained their new strategy perfectly: the Chasers were to try and score as many points as they could, their Beaters try and stop the Seeker (but not kill), and the Keeper was to watch every movement on the pitch. "We can't afford to lose our first game of the year. Understood?"

Everyone grumbles amongst themselves, but nodded.

* * *

The Hallowe'en feast was as delicious and sickening as ever.

Sweet treats and other assorted confectionery littered the four long tables in the Great Hall that evening. There was a second-year Slytherin that commented: "My mum would have a pink fit if they saw all these sweets!"

"Why?"

"She's a Muggle dentist, which means that she looks after people's teeth."

Teddy and the other Hufflepuff were contently chewing through toffee apples when a centaur with red curls and a piebald body galloped into the hall.

"CENTAURS ARE REVOLTING! THE CENTAURS ARE REVOLTING!" He screamed.

Professor McGonagall rose from her seat, and stormed toward the centaur. "What is the meaning of this, Hogan?" All the students watched in an enraptured silence, waiting to hear the professor's verdict. "Prefects, please escort all students back to your houses. Staff, please follow Hogan into the Forbidden Forest."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Ollie said.

* * *

Kayleigh led the Hufflepuffs to their common room, listening to their wild chatter about the centaurs and the revolution that Hogan screeched about. "I advise that you all go to your rooms and get some sleep. The headmistress will inform you all about what happened during tomorrow night's feast."

The four boys sat on their beds and talked till Amir, Tristan, and Ollie crashed from the sugar high that they had been running on. Teddy abandoned his bed and went into the common room to find Jem sitting by the fire. She was wrapped-up tightly in warm clothes with her wand gripped in her hand.

She bolted for the barrels. "Let's go."

"Mate, you sure?" Teddy stopped her. "I mean, centaurs are pretty dangerous when angered,"

"Look, I want to have this revolt over as much as the next person, but don't you want to find out why this has go on?"

Teddy considered this for a moment. He left her, and came back dressed similarly, with his hair a muddy-brown colour. "Let's go and get into trouble," He breathed.

* * *

They met Stefan on their trip to the Forbidden Forest. "I'm not going to pass the chance to see a herd of centauri, let's be honest, Jem."

As they ventured further, Stefan led them to the Slytherin dungeon. "I'm just going to fetch Carrie, gimme a sec,"

Teddy's mouth was agape. "Why not bring the whole of Slytherin, eh? I thought it was going to just be me and you?"

"Look, I didn't ask Stefan to come on this, and neither did you. It's just circumstance."

He scoffed. "Yeah, like Stefan asking Carrie to come along is just circumstantial as well,"

"Right, ready to go?" Carrie asked.

* * *

The four were arriving at Hagrid's hut when they heard a dog staring to bark.

"Back, Fang! Back, you dozy mutt!" Hagrid's thunderous voice boomed. He stepped out, armed with what looked like an old Muggle hunting rifle. "Who's out there?" He roared.

Teddy motioned for the others to be silent as they crept around the house till they were out of Hagrid's shooting range.

"Is everyone okay?" Carrie questioned.

"God that was terrifying!" Stefan burst out.

"Shhh!" Teddy hissed. "There could be teachers out here, so be be quite."

"So, how are we going to get around being seen?" Jem wondered.

Carrie had devised a plan. She explained how they could stick together, and worked about moving around the trees, and at any sign of noise or trouble, they separate and meet back at the edge of the forest. "Questions?"

"Yeah, what do we do if we get caught by a centaur, or a teacher?"

Carrie paused.

"Send up a shot of red sparks?" Jem suggested.

"Yeah, but that's what the Aurors do." Teddy said. "Why not send up green sparks?"

Carrie nodded. "Okay. Green sparks it is then."

"Whoa. Wait. What do we do about getting back to the castle?" Jem asked.

Stefan went back to Hagrid's hut, and came back with a mangy black boot. "We have this as a Portkey,"

"What's a 'Portkey'?"

Jem sighed. "We don't have time to explain, Carrie, otherwise we're going to get caught."

"If I charm this so that, say, in an hour, we're ready to go back to the Hufflepuff common-room. Everyone okay with that?"

No-one answered. Stefan rolled his eyes and tapped his wand on the boot. " _Portus_." He muttered. The boot illuminated with a blue glow.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

They had seen nothing in their search so far. They had heard shouts and the sounds of a few thrown spells, but nothing too dangerous.

A twig snapped behind them. "What was that?" Stefan whimpered.

"Not sure," Teddy whispered. He tightened the grip on his wand. "Let's go."

Their footfalls were silent as they crept through the expanse of the Forbidden Forest. There was a loud whinny and a charge of hooves in their direction, causing them to tense up.

"What to we do?" Jem stuttered.

Carrie gulped. "We just stay still, and try not to make any sudden changes in movement."

The hooves grew closer, each gallop becoming louder than the last.

"RUN!" Teddy screamed as the four split from their group, and ran towards the edge of the forest.

Whatever was coming towards them followed, as Teddy heard the hooves thunder on the forest floor. They has just made it to the Portkey, when the thing stopped. The first-years turned to see a tall man with white-blond hair, and a palamino body. "Hello Edward Lupin." The centaur spoke, bowing low. "My name is Firenze."

"Uh... Hi." Teddy sounded cautious.

"I apologise if I scared you and your companions,"

"Nah, it's fine." Teddy shrugged. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but me and my friends have got to go, before we get caught."

"Of course. Good night, Edward Lupin."

"Ted, grab hold of the boot! Quick!" Stefan called.

Teddy grabbed the boot, ans had a sudden feeling of something being stuck below the navel as he and the others flew from Hagrid's hut to the Hufflepuff common-room.

* * *

Landing with a hard thud, Teddy and the others arrived.

Breathing heavily, they all looked at their surroundings.

Stefan gulped the air. "I hope no-one saw that, because I will no be doing that again."


	12. Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw

It had been a week since their trip to the Forbidden Forest. And they promised to never speak of it again.

However, the four wanted to go adventuring again. "When shall we three meet again?" Carrie quoted Macbeth.

"In thunder, lightening, or in rain?" Jem said back to her. "I dunno. As much as I enjoyed it, I wasn't a particular fan of being in the bloody Forbidden Forest."

Stefan agreed. "Look, it was fun in theory. We could've died, be caught or be taken hostage by the centaurs, or worse: expelled."

"You sound like my Aunt Hermione."

That morning, Hufflepuff were to play Ravenclaw in the first Quidditch match of the year. Everyone was abuzz in the Great Hall - Stefan had gone so far as to paint his face in blue and silver stripes. Jem kept poking Teddy, asking him to change his hair into black and yellow stripes.

Amir was nowhere to be found, which the others thought to be strange. But surely there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for their friend's disappearance.

* * *

"Hello and welcome to the first match of the school year: Hufflepuff verses Ravenclaw!" Benjy Vickers spoke. He sat comfortably next to Professor Sprout in the Teacher's Box... As far away from the game as possible.

Teddy and the others were being jostled by the lively crowd. Jem almost lost her binoculars.

"I see Amir!" She shouted. "That must be his dad. The wizard with the nice suit and bright green scarf!" She passed her binoculars around the boys, who were all glad to see that their friend was alright.

As Madame Hooch briefly spoke to the captains. Her whistle blew, and she released the Quaffle. "The Quaffle is released! And the game begins!" Benjy shouts.

Both teams flying into action, zipping in and out between themselves.

"The Quaffle is passed to Hufflepuff captain Angelina Brown from chaser Lewis Stumph - I say! He has a nice bum-"

"Benjy!" Professor McGonagall screeched.

"Oops! Sorry Professor, but it's true," Benjy giggled. Casting his eyes back to the game, he notices: "RAVENCLAW SCORE! TEN POINTS TO RAVENCLAW!" As the mad furore died down, Benjy continued with his commentary.

The game continued dismally. Ravenclaw had scored twenty more points by the time Hufflepuff achieved their first ten points. Angelina wasn't too pleased, as she kept trying to change her strategy whilst flying: shouting and screaming, especially at their two Beaters, Robin and Josh.

Teddy noticed that Angelina had stopped flying, looking down at the pitch, trying to see where the Quaffle was. It was moving to fast, being switched from player to player. Suddenly, there was the shout that Ravenclaw had scored again. A flash of gold caught Teddy's peripheral vision - the Golden Snitch.

Kenny was hovering close enough to the stand - close enough that Teddy could shout: "What are you doing all the way over here? You've got to be up there, helping us win. So far you've done jack-" A Bludger popped out of the cloud and hit Kenny's broom, sending him spinning down from his position.

The crowd made a collective gasp of shock and a groan of pain.

Someone in yellow took this as his cue to nose-dive after Kenny, hoping to catch him before he hits the ground. He zipped past other players, dodging a second Bludger and the flying Quaffle before seeing the young Seeker make an awful crunching sounds against the hard earth on the pitch.

Madame Hooch came down from her referee position to meet the growing crowd of players that surrounded Kenny. "Out of my way! Out of my way!" She looked at Kenny; there was a large splatter of dirt that had some blood from where Kenny's head hit the ground, and it was obvious that Kenny was unconscious. "Grab the stretcher," She said to two Ravenclaw players. "Mr Greene needs to be taken to the hospital wing."

* * *

Arriving back at the Hufflepuff common room, Teddy was met by Amir and the others.

"How's Kenny?" Tristan asked.

"Did Angelina have a really big go at you all?" Jem questioned.

Teddy sat down, and let Socks the cat curl up in his lap. He sighed and laid his head into the squishy upholstery of the sofa. "All I've heard from some fifth-years is that Kenny's going to be okay, he just had a really nasty fall and cracked his head open. And Angelina is a little annoyed at everyone, but that's to be expected after we lost the game."

Oliver came over with a tray of tea cups and a small copper kettle. "Like my nanna says, 'Tea is the best damn thing anyone can have after a bad day'." He handed out the cups to everyone, and offered around a tin of biscuits.

"I like your nanna, Ollie," Amir said, chewing on a biscuit happily. "She gives some good advice."

There was a small tapping at the window: an owl was hovering outside, a letter clamped in its beak. Tristan let the bird in, settling it on the sofa.

It dropped the letter in Teddy's lap, then flew away into a nearby flowerpot, snuggling into the green leaves.

"Who's it from, Ted?"

"It's from my Uncle Harry." He tore the letter open and read Harry's slightly untidy script:

_Dear Teddy,_

_Sorry for this letter getting to you so late. There's been reports of a mole in the Auror Department, so any outgoing letters are being checked before being sent out - but I'm not going to talk about work._

_It's good to know that you've made friends, Ted, not that you've had that trouble in the past. The friendships that I made at Hogwarts have lasted me a lifetime, as you already know. I hope that you haven't got too homesick, as your gran and Mrs Weasley have been worrying themselves sick about you - send them a letter or two when you get the chance._

_You've been sorted into a brilliant house, Teddy - Hufflepuff is somewhat underrated by many people, and is the butt of loads of jokes, but you've joined the house of the heroes: the so-called 'quiet ones' - and those are always the people that you have to look out for, as they are the ones that you least expect. Your mum and dad would be so proud of you, but I guess you knew that already._

_I have to go now. I'm really sorry for how short this letter is, but until this mole is found, time is of the essence._

_Much love,_

_Uncle Harry_

"A mole in the Auror Department? That doesn't sound good." Amir spoke.

"Nah, I don't really like the sound of that either," Ollie said.

"But what does this all mean for the Wizarding World?" Tristan wondered.

"Something wicked this way comes."


	13. Christmas

It was the end of Teddy's first term at Hogwarts, and today was the day he was to go home for the holidays.

He sat on the train with Jem, Stefan, Carrie, Tristan, Ollie, and Amir stuffed into a compartment. They were all laughing and chattering about what they might be up to over the time away from Hogwarts.

"My parents and I are going to visit family in Afghanistan," Amir explained. "Things aren't too peachy over there at the moment, with the Muggle war going on, but we're still visiting. All my cousins are so excited to hear all about Hogwarts." He bit into a Pumpkin Pasty. "So, what are you doing Tristan?"

"My Tad and Ewythr are planning on making Christmas dinner, and Tad-cu is visiting from the care-home." Everyone looked at him as if he had two heads. "My dad and uncle are planning on doing dinner, and my grandad is coming to visit." There was a collective noise of understanding from everyone.

"What about you, Carrie?" Jem asked.

She shrugged. "Not sure yet. We never really have any plans for Christmas. Maybe go and see my Uncle Amos. But I'm going to do something, that's for sure."

Jem and Stefan said how their family were going to spend the holiday in Switzerland, as they have family out there; Ollie told them how he was going to have a quiet Christmas at home with his family; then Teddy was asked.

"Well, Christmas is never really quiet in my house." He began. "Mainly, Christmas has been spent over at the Burrow, but as the Weasley and Potter families grew, it got harder to fit everyone in, cause of the screaming babies, toddlers, children - total chaos. My gran and Mrs Weasley now split Christmas between their houses; this year, it's my gran's turn to host Christmas."

"Imagine the size of the mountain of presents!" Ollie exclaimed. "How many cousins have you actually got, Ted?"

"There's me, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Rose, Hugo, Fred, Roxie, James, Albus, and Lily, that makes... thirteen of us."

"Well dang!"

* * *

Mrs Tonks met Teddy at the station. "It was so hard to find you!" She said to him. "With all those people around, _and_ your hair being a normal colour for once - Merlin's beard!"

They arrived home not long after four o'clock that evening, and were met by all the family. Teddy was tackled to the ground by Victoire, James, and Roxanne, who were all giggling wildly.

"So, what's Hogwarts like, Teddy?" Victoire asked, her eyes shining with glee.

"Pretty much how everyone's described it really, but there's a bit more magic thrown in!"

The evening ended with all the younger children gathered around Teddy's feet, listening to him telling them about Hogwarts' secrets. "All of a sudden 'poof!'" There was a small gasp from Rose. "The stairs just disappeared!"

* * *

As much as Teddy loved the rain, he hated when the weather conditions spoilt the Christmas magic. It had been raining for nearly a week, and there had been flood warnings set out on the Muggle news.

He woke up to find yet another day had been ruined by the wet weather. Getting dressed and laying back on his bed, Teddy just stared at the ceiling; Mrs Tonks came knocking on the door, breaking Teddy out of his trance. "Edward? Are you feeling okay? I didn't see you come down for breakfast this morning."

Rubbing his eyes, Teddy groggily sat up, his head feeling heavy. "I was bored."

"Bored? You?" Mrs Tonks ruffled his hair. "You don't half make me laugh, Edward Lupin." She drifted in the room, picking up any dirty clothes that were laying about the place. "Haven't you got any homework you need to be doing?"

He shook his head. "No. We weren't given any."

"I'm surprised. When I was at Hogwarts, we always got homework during the holidays. And if we didn't get any, I'd find a way to keep myself busy: I cold never sit still for five minutes without doing something, I'd be driven mad by not doing anything."

Suddenly, the telephone rang.

"That's strange," Mrs Tonks muttered. She left the room and went downstairs to answer it. "Hello? Ah, hello Harry, dear, what's the matter?"

Teddy took this as a perfect opportunity to go down and find out why Harry was calling. It was strange for Harry to be using a Muggle device like a telephone to contact people: he knew there were other ways of getting hold of someone.

"I haven't been hearing of any strange Dark activity going on... It's never been said in _The Daily Prophet_ , or on the radio... No letters have come through in the last few days... Teddy? No, he hasn't told me anything about strange letters or people at Hogwarts. Has he said anything to you?... Well, if there was anything, he'd know to tell one of us immediately... Of course, I'll be careful about any owl post that comes through... Thank you for telling me... Okay, bye Harry love, bye." Mrs Tonks put the phone down.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh Teddy, dear, you made me jump!" Mrs Tonks set about putting the kettle on. "Harry phoned up. He said that there's been a large security problem in the Auror office, and at the Registry Office,"

"What?"

"Harry has just told me that there was the suspicion of a secret agent, a mole, in the Auror and Registry Offices at the Ministry. Just this morning there was a break-in: the reigstry of all muggleborns and half-bloods has been stolen."

"But I thought the registry was destroyed after You-Know-Who was defeated. It was one of the first things Minister Shaklebolt did as the new Minister for Magic."

Mrs Tonks smiled. "Well someone's been listening in History of Magic!"

"Why is there still a registry? It makes no sense."

"This registry is just a list of addresses, Teddy, it's nothing like what You-Know-Who did," She poured out the tea and handed Teddy a mug. "Harry was just wondering if any strange letters or wizards had been spotted around here,"

Teddy sipped his tea. "And what has this got to do with me?"

"The Auror Office has been under the suspicion that there are some Dark wizards trying to recruit Hogwarts students. There has been some reports of this, but they have come from different schools, like Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. But it's nothing that we should be too worried about - Harry has everything under control."

* * *

Snow began to fall in Tinworth in the run up to Christmas Day.

Both Mrs Tonks and Teddy spent time with Bill and Fleur at Shell Cottage; it was fun to watch Teddy and the other children to run about and play in the snow whilst it fell: Victoire and little Louis made a small snowman whilst Teddy and Dominique threw snowballs at each other, starting a fight between the three older children. Bill joined in, helping Louis throw clumps of snow at the others.

When everyone was chilled to the bone, they all came into the cottage for mugs of hot chocolate and slices of Christmas cake

* * *

Christmas morning had arrived.

Teddy, James, and Fred came rushing into Mrs Tonks' room at half-past seven. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" James shouted. He hopped onto Mrs Tonks' bed and jiggled it till Mrs Tonks stirred.

"What are you all doing in here?!" Hermione asked. "All of you: shoo! Leave poor Mrs Tonks to sleep!"

The there children scampered off, giggling hysterically.

"Thank you, Hermione, but I was just about to get up anyway," Mrs Tonks stated, reaching for her dressing gown.

Hermione smiled and helped Mrs Tonks down the stairs; since all the younger children were about, they had a pechant for leaving their toys, shoes, and other things lying all over the stairs.

"Morning gran!" Teddy cheered. He was sitting at the foot of the small Christmas tree, with Lily Luna snuggled in his lap.

A small chorus of 'good morning' was hailed from the other members of family.

* * *

After breakfast was eaten and gallons of tea drunk, it was time to open the presents.

Teddy was handed his first, as he was the oldest. By the end of passing the presents, Teddy had received two big boxes, four medium boxes, and some little boxes.

"Go on, Ted," Harry smiled. "Open them all up!"

Teddy got to work on the first big box; this one was wrapped in silver paper with a big red bow. "Thanks Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny!" He tore open the wrapping to reveal a Holyhead Harpies Quidditch kit; the shirt had Ginny's former team number on it. "You kidding? Wow! That's awesome! Thank you so much!"

The second big box was from Mr and Mrs Weasley, and it held the traditional Christmas present: a Weasley jumper and some homemade fudge; this jumper was black with a yellow 'T' on it.

Teddy's other presents were even more exciting: he received some beautiful quills, ever-lasting ink, and colour-changing ink from Ron and Hermione - when asked what bird did the feathers come from, Hermione just simply replied: "A Hippogriff." Much to Teddy's amazement.

From Bill, Fleur and the children, Teddy was given some French sweets - or _bonbons_ , as Fleur called them - and a Sneakoscope. "Best to have that in your dormitory, Ted," Bill chuckled. "You never know when one of your roommates has a trick up their sleeve!"

George and Angelina weren't present, but they did leave Teddy four Skiving Snackboxes and some little things from George's shop. "Can't wait to use those, Ted?" Harry teased.

Lastly came Mrs Tonks' present. "It's outside." She smiled

Teddy, James, and Victoire dashed outside to find a broom floating in the backgarden - its dark wooden handle had gathered a light frosty sheen. "Wicked! For me, Nan? Really? That's lovely! Wow! Thank you so much!" He grasped his grandmother by the waist and hugged her tightly. He paused for a moment. "But what about Aunt Ginny's broom? What will happen to that?"

"Well a little bird has told us of all the things that you've been getting up to in the try-outs, and none of us want all that potential to go to waste." Mrs Tonks said.

"Take it with you next year," Ginny spoke up. "Use it as the broom for training. Then you have a brand new one for matches. That's what I did when I played professionally."

"And I'll take your word for it!" Teddy chuckled. "But wow! My very own broom! That's great! Thanks Nan!"

* * *

Teddy had spent most of the holiday break playing on his broom, and letting some of his cousins ride along with him. With some of the adults, Harry and Ginny in particular, he had practice matches with; Harry and Ginny would show him different strategies and tactics that they had used in the past. There was one day, just before Teddy went back to school, where he, Harry, and Ginny played a friendly match between George, Ron, and Angelina; Angelina's team won, but Teddy disagreed calling it a fluke.

However, there was one day that stuck in Teddy's mind: he was visiting Harry and Ginny in Godric's Hollow, and as night fell, Harry had caught Teddy looking at the full moon.

"Restless?" Harry asked, sitting next to his godson.

Teddy smirked. "A little. I get headaches and can't sleep well when it's the full moon."

"Most people would pity you, and Victoire, Dominique, and Louis for that matter."

"Why would they?"

Harry gave Teddy a look as if to say ' _Why do you think?'_ \- "It's because of your dad, and his lycanthropy, or what my dad used to call 'his furry little problem'."

"I guess it's part of who I am, and I know I can't change that, but I like it,"

"Really?"

Teddy nodded. "It makes me feel closer to my dad. Being a Metamorphmagus makes me closer to my mum than ever, but this werewolf thing is totally my dad - which sounds stupid, but it makes sense to me."

"No, no, I understand that. It's like me looking exactly like my dad, but having my mother's eyes. You're more like your parents than you know, Teddy, and one day you'll understand that more than ever."

As the words swam around Teddy, he had a moment of clarity, but as that feeling faded, all that was left was the pressure of living up to a legacy. Teddy now felt like he had only one purpose: to live up to be the person that his parents were - to be brave, loyal, true, and have the determination to die for those you love and for what you believe in.

"Is there more to life than growing up to be like your parents?"


	14. White Robes

Even though the Christmas holidays were over, it was still bitterly cold at Hogwarts; the Black Lake was still frozen over and icicles could be seen in both the Potions and Herbology classrooms.

Professor Slughorn was generous in letting a decent fire burn in the dungeons. But despite this, he was still handing out small remedies for the common cold out to the students. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout were busy helping Professor Slughorn with this venture, meaning that they were all twice as busy as they would normally be.

Teddy and the other Hufflepuffs were kept busy also, as the fifth-years were beginning to study for their O.W.Ls, and the seventh-years starting to leave their N.E.W.T revision notes all over the library, much to the disdain of Madame Pinze ('The old crotchety bat' Teddy remembers one Gryffindor call her).

It was also announced that Professor Sprout was to retire, however she would remain at Hogwarts as head of Hufflepuff. Her successor would be Neville Longbottom, much to the delight of Teddy; Neville had been hinting at this for the past few months, but never quite got round to telling everyone.

* * *

Everyone had settled into a comfortable routine in their second week of the first term: Study Period would be used to catch up on homework; during the time between their last class and dinner, Teddy and his fellow Hufflepuffs would get as much homework done as they could, and what they didn't finish would be done afterward; the odd lunchtime would be spent studying or quickly going over their homework before their next classes; and then Friday afternoons would be large study session around at Hagrid's - and he was glad of the company: all the stories and gossip he'd hear from the first-years made him chuckle, and Fang was very content in all the attention and the occasional rock cake that he was given.

Professor Akami, however, was becoming a problem. There were rumours that she was practicing dark magic, or experimenting on students while in detention with her; some students were saying that anywhere between four or five students were being sent to the hospital wing a day because of an accident that had occurred in class.

It was beginning to worry students. And the parents, too. Owl after owl flew into the school, all carrying letters from concerned parents, claiming that Professort Akami's actions needed to be reined in, or they would pull their child from Hogwarts.

The mountains of letters are so large that Professor McGonagall made a point of it at dinner one evening: "Before we start tonight's feast, I would like students to take note, and even write home to their parents, that the recent allegations against Professor Akami are being dealt with, and that there should be no more concern expressed."

However, on this particular mid-morning in February, something happened that got all of Hogwarts a little worried:

"Professor McGonagall, I implore you to see that these lessons are suitable for these students. All this talk of dark magic coming back: they need to be prepared!" Professor Akami debated. It was no secret that she was preparing the students to fight, which is the point of her being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but the student casualties coming from her lessons were slowly increasing.

Professor McGonagall stopped right in her tracks. "Prepared? As I would understand it, Mitsuko, you are causing our students to make one another fly across classrooms and injure themselves! I do think that it is not wise to continue such practice: we are preparing them for real dangers, but we cannot put these students in unnecessary harm."

"Minerva, please, I beg you to listen-"

"And I am listening, but all I can hear is twittering!" And with a twirl of her robes, Professor McGonagall was gone.

The gathered students watched as Professor Akami stood at the opening to the Great Hall, mouth agape with shock. She turned to see that everyone was staring at her, not quite understanding the meaning of what had occurred, but gathering some idea of what happened.

"Mark my words, students," Professor Akami calmly spoke. "Hogwarts may have stopped the Dark Lord from rising," Her robes began to glow, changing from blood red into a pure white. "But they will not stop the darkness from rising again till this fleeting world has perished!" A brilliant, white-hot light filled the Great Hall and when it imploded, Professor Akami was gone, leaving a silk wrap decorated with golden dragons behind.

* * *

It was now the beginning of March, and the Ministry were still no closer to finding Professor Akami, who was described to be 'currently at large, armed and dangerous; a public wizarding announcement: stay in your homes and do not leave unless it is absolutely necessary.'

Harry and his fellow Aurors conducted a nationwide search for Professor Akami, but they could not find her; her small flat in London was stripped bare, and her family had not seen her in many, many years. Aurors from all of China and Japan was alerted to Professor Akami's sudden change in loyalty, and as the search continued, more and more came to light about Professor Mitsuko Akami...

"She was born in Tokyo, to Hiroki and Ayuka Akami; had three siblings, Kazou, Eiko, and Fujiko. Aged fourteen Professor Akami - or rather Mitsuko - was suspected of being a member of a gang that mixed with those affiliated with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, however this was never proven," Harry read out the basic facts about Professor Akami when conducting a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix; Minister for Magic Kingsley Shaklebolt tried to disband it after the Second Great Wizarding War, however the Order was needed more than ever, and was reformed alongside the Auror Office when Harry become Head Auror. "When leaving Mahoutokoro, Professor Akami began to travel the world, studying all sorts of wizardry. In 1999, she re-joined Mahoutokoro as part of its teaching staff up until now."

"What I don't seem to understand it how she's not been shamed by her robes," Headmaster Hiro Takatashi of the Mahoutokoro School of Magic stated. He had been informed and bought to England the moment Professor Akami was announced as missing. "It is known in our culture that, should a witch or wizard follow dark paths, their robes are to turn pure white. If Mitsuko was originally suspected of dark practices, why did her robes not betray her?"

Harry shrugged, "I am not sure, Headmaster. Professor Akami could have charmed them to appear normal, but her robes revealed their true colours the second she vanished."

"Another problem that we have to face is how we are going to fight the oncoming darkness that Professor Akami foretold." Ron pointed out. "There are a number of dark witches and wizards that have gone into hiding after the Second Wizarding War that remain at large, so it's clear that she has been contacting them from under our very noses. How?"

"That's another thing that we have to uncover," Harry said. "I think that all this is linked with the security breach that happened just before Christmas. We had our registry stolen, and now we have a dark witch on the loose."

Professor McGonagall spoke up. "What would you have us do, Potter?"

"Hogwarts remains open, that's a definite thing that has to be done. Minister, what do you think?"

"You're right, Harry. There needs to be a large group of Aurors stationed at every entrance to the grounds, that includes the experienced and apprentices: we need to keep Hogwarts safe; Harry, I expect to have a list of fifty Aurors that you deem fits for this mission on my desk tomorrow morning,"

"Yes Minister,"

"Professor McGonagall, what will you do about re-filling the post of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

Harry stepped forward. "I can do that."

"Potter? I know that you were a highly recommended candidate for the position in the past, but now is not the time to fill that post,"

"I know Professor, but filling the role means that I can keep my eyes out inside the school for any expected Dark magic, and I'm on hand if anything does happen."

"Plus Hermione and I can help out, Professor," Ron said. "We have more than enough experience, and we can cover for Harry if he is needed at the Ministry,"

"He is right, Professor,"

Professor McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "Why is it whenever anything happens, it is always you three?"

"Not sure Professor, but I've been asking myself that question for the past eleven years," Ron laughed.

* * *

_Dear Uncle Harry,_

_Is it true what Professor McGonagall said last night? You're going to be teaching here?! Wow! That's going to be great!_

_Nan told me everything that's been planned by the Order. Does that mean our lessons are going to be more practical now? Am I going to be getting any special treatment because I'm your godson? I guess not, but it's worth asking!_

_Give my love to Auntie Ginny, James, Albus and Lily, won't you?_

_Love Teddy_

He signed off his letter and sent it away with his owl.

"You okay, Ted?" Carrie asked. She sat down next to him, her near-white hair fluttering in the afternoon breeze.

"Yeah," He sighed. Teddy got out his Transfiguration homework and made a start. "It's just with everything that's happened lately I've gotten a bit worried,"

"Is it because you think that there's going to be another war?"

"Uh-huh."

Carrie took a bite out of her apple. "My mum's been sending me letter after letter, begging me to come home. I can understand why, though: she's worried that she'll lose me like she lost my dad and my brother."

"At least you have a mum. I don't really remember much of mine; all I have is a lot of pictures and her hair."

"But that's something! I've never seen any pictures of my dad or my brother."

"Really?"

"Yup. My mum got rid of all of the photos she had when they died."

"Jeez - I mean, I'm sorry about that."

"Meh, you don't have to be. When I first found out I was fuming at my mum for what she did."

Teddy nodded. "I'd be fuming if my nan did that with all the pictures of me and my parents."

"Ted! Carrie! It's time to go!" Stefan shouted.

They both sighed.

"I'll see you at the feast tonight then?" Teddy questioned.

"Yeah, I'll be sitting near Stefan," Carrie answered.

"Cool. See you later."

* * *

History of Magic was an absolute bore. Professor Binns thought it was a grand idea to speak at a hundred miles an hour; at the moment he was wildly chattering about the Second Great Wizarding War.

"Now, as you all are aware I'm sure, there were many casualties of this war: muggle and wizard a-like. A death most notable were that of ex-Hogwarts professor Remus Lupin."

Teddy jolted so hard that he fell out of his chair.

Professor Binns stopped. "My dear boy, is there something wrong?"

He sat up. "Um, no, Professor, it's just you mentioned a name: Remus Lupin."

"Why yes, yes I did. Why do you ask?"

"It's just..." Teddy gulped. "It's just that Remus Lupin is my father, sir,"

"Is he?" Professor Binns began to laugh. "My, my! I never made the connection when I looked at my register!"

Teddy felt confident in telling the class this very personal information, but all of a sudden: "Lupin's a Werewolf! Teddy Lupin is a Werewolf!"


	15. Werewolf Boy

"Lupin's a Werewolf! Teddy Lupin is a Werewolf!"

And from that moment, Teddy's life at Hogwarts became harder: the Hufflepuff Quidditch team didn't talk to him; he was given cold stares by members of his own house; Tobias Bentley from Gryffindor started to send snide comments Teddy's way, asking if he'd been watching out for the full moon.

Even though there was the Lycanthrope Registration Act and the subject of werewolves was taught at Hogwarts with more consideration than in previous years, it was obvious that there was still some prejudice.

The only people to stand beside Teddy were his friends and Professor McGonagall.

* * *

It had been a few days after the March full moon, and Teddy was still restless. He couldn't seem to get any sleep, which reflected badly on his classwork; sleeplessness caused his bite to be worse than his bark.

He decided to head for Professor McGonagall's office, much like he did with every full moon. Teddy knew that speaking to the professor would clear his head a bit - but when he arrived to the doorway, he knew something wasn't at all right: there were a small handful of students sitting outside her office, all laden with blankets and pillows, and what looked like to be their school luggage.

The doorway moved to reveal several parents exiting the office, all grumbling and looking disgruntled. One caught sight of Teddy. "See! There's the werewolf, still running about the castle, pretending to be something that it's not!"

"Mr Davidson, please. This young man you see before you is _not_ a werewolf. He is a student at Hogwarts school." Professor McGonagall seemed to have appeared out of the darkness to come to Teddy's aid. "And he will not, like others of his parentage or otherwise, be made to feel like he is any different from any of his fellow students. Like you and I, Mr Davidson, Mr Lupin is a member of wizarding society, whether it is right with you or not."

Mr Davidson stood there, dumbfounded by Professor McGonagall's show of strength and non-judgmental behavior.

"If that will be all, Mr Davidson," She continued. "Then could you please allow your daughter to return to her dormitory, and could you return to your home."

Mr Davidson grumbled as he picked up his daughter and stormed off.

Professor McGonagall turned to the other parents and students present. "I advise all of you to do the same. It has been an uncomfortable, shall we say, few hours for the students and no doubt a stressful night for the parents. If you please excuse me and Mr Lupin." She headed towards her office again, this time with Teddy in tow.

* * *

Teddy watched as an enchanted teapot pour out two mugs of tea and a tin of Ginger Newts open to offer Teddy a biscuit.

"Now, Mr Lupin, what are doing out of bed?"

Teddy nibbled on his biscuit. "Well, it's been a few days after the full moon, Professor, and I still can't get to sleep. I guess it's all this werewolf stuff."

"'All this werewolf stuff', as you call it, has caused many parents to pull their son or daughter out of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall sipped her tea and sharply glared at Teddy through her spectacles. Seeing Teddy shrink in his seat a little, she put her teacup down and sat back in her chair. "Now, I do not blame you, Mr Lupin. Professor Binns informed me of what occurred in his classroom,"

"He did?" Teddy sounded disappointed by this.

"Yes, he did. He spoke of your pride about your statement also; I understand that you had no ill-meaning by your honesty or your pride on the subject of the Second Great Wizarding War."

Teddy gave a small half-smile. "What I don't get is all the prejudice that still goes on with werewolves. I mean, sure there was a little problem when the Lycanthrope Registration Act was passed, but when the werewolf community were told of what it would mean for them, everything settled down. One of my housemates, he was so glad when I told him about my aunt Hermione: he said that his cousin was pretty happy about the Act."

"Well, sometimes things do not always go the way that has been planned, Mr Lupin. It is a part of every culture to not like change to how they live, work, and enjoy their lives. The animosity that you were made aware of earlier will always stand against werewolves, no matter what is done for the Wizarding World. We have made firm changes to how things are taught here at Hogwarts: we have allowed members of the Lycanthrope community come and teach our students about what it is to be a werewolf, and how that affects their daily tasks. You must understand, Mr Lupin, that, no matter how much change is made to the world, there will always be those who will ultimately struggle with the changes to their own little bubble; that is why you were a witness to the grumblings of the adults."

Teddy nodded and sighed. "It looks like the only people around here that do go and give me dirty looks are you and my friends."

"I am glad for you, Mr Lupin, that you have made strong relations with your fellow classmates. I remember Harry telling me,"

"Uncle Harry spoke to you?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes; he visited me not long before you joined Hogwarts. He does every now and then to stop by for a cup of tea and a biscuit. It has become a little ritual of ours since Harry left Hogwarts."

"Nice." He smiled.

For the rest of the evening, Professor McGonagall and Teddy talked about anything that came to their minds. By the end of their little chat, Teddy was fast asleep and curled up into the armchair in Professor McGonagall's office; there were biscuit crumbs on his cheeks and littered about the floor around his feet.

Professor McGonagall couldn't help but softly smile at the boy before her; she placed a woollen blanket around his frame and let him sleep, leaving a new tin of Ginger Newts and a glass of milk on the table in front of him.

* * *

The next evening, Professor McGonagall made an announcement at dinner: "I am aware that all of you know of the rumor that there is a werewolf at Hogwarts; I can tell you now that this rumor is not true. Due to the honesty of the accused student, they have been subject to mean remarks and the 'cold shoulder' from his fellow students. Hear me now, students, that I do not want there to be any behaviour that does not reflect the values that Hogwarts teaches here. I condone the actions of those who treat others differently due to circumstance, family, or bloodline. Those are the ideals of the past. A word to Prefects briefly: if you notice any sharp behaviour being aimed at students, please report the offending students to me at once."

For Teddy, things eased up for him after that, but with some students, like Tobias, it only made things worse. In Herbology, Tobias ruined Teddy's work and shoved dirt down the back of Teddy's shirt.

"What is your problem?" Teddy spun around in anger, his hair beginning to flame red.

Tobias grinned wolfishly before throwing himself to the ground and screaming. "PROFESSOR LONGBOTTOM! HELP! TEDDY ATTACKED ME! HE BIT ME SIR! HE BIT ME!"

Neville rolled his eyes at Tobias' behaviour. "Mr Bentley, please get up off of the floor. You're making a show of yourself."

"But Professor! Lupin bit me!"

"Where did he bite you then, hm? Show me where he bit you?"

Tobias said nothing, his cheeks blushing with shame.

"I thought so," Neville spoke. "Mr Bentley, please see me after class to talk about your behaviour."

* * *

Teddy's owl, Archie, flew in mysteriously in the dead of night. A large letter was trapped in his beak.

"You're a bit early, aren't you Archie?" Teddy laughed as he took the letter from the bird.

"What's it say, Ted?" Jem asked.

Teddy opened in, and saw that a yellowed piece of parchment slipped out along with a letter.

_Dear Teddy,_

_Enclosed is the Marauders Map - I want you to use it for your own safety whilst wandering about the castle when you're not supposed to (if you do that sort of thing). Don't let your grandmother, Aunt Ginny, or your Aunt Hermione know that I've given you this. Or Professor McGonagall, for that matter._

_We're close on Professor Akami's trail, but the Order believe that she's headed back to Hogwarts: we have had some supposed sightings over the last few weeks, so that's why I've sent the map to you._

_Use it well, and keep it hidden._

_Much love,_

_Uncle Harry_

"Seriously? Professor Akami coming _here_? Back to Hogwarts?" Amir gulped.

Tristan spoke up. "We have to tell Professor McGonagall about this. She needs to arm the castle."

"Didn't you guys read the letter? It says that Professor McGonagall _can't_ know about this!" Jem hissed at the two boys.

"Knowing Uncle Harry, she probably already knows about this." Teddy said. "But we have to keep an eye on the map - we never know when Professor Akami might make an appearance at Hogwarts."

* * *

In the Forbidden Forest, a hooded figure reached the border of the school grounds.

"I want to thank you for your guidance and help into getting me here," The figure spoke.

"It is my pleasure to help those who need it," The guide bowed lowly. "Do you want me to escort you to the castle, or are you content in making your own path?"

"I will make my own way, thank you."

The guide left, their hooves making not sound against the wet grass. "What is your name, traveller? In case we meet again, I would like to recognise you."

"Akami. Mitsuko Akami."


	16. Harry Potter Has Come to Hogwarts

Harry Potter was the talk of Hogwarts the next morning. Students noticed him as he sat in Professor Akami's seat at the High Table. All Pureblood students stared in wonder, waiting for Harry to say something; all Halfblood students gazed at the Boy Who Lived in amazement, but then went back to their breakfast; all Muggleborn students sat eagerly at the ends of their tables, trying to get as close to Harry as possible.

Teddy didn't see Harry that morning at breakfast; however Harry was present in his Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson that day, much to his glee.

"Good morning students." Harry grinned. There was a chorus of hellos and stuttering from the students. "As you are aware, your previous teacher, Professor Akami, has been declared a member of a dark power that the Ministry has only been made aware of. I asked Professor McGonagall whether I was able to take one the role until this new threat has been stopped, or until a new, and more qualified, professor can be found to take over your lessons."

Harry wrote on the black board 'DEFENSIVE SPELLS - WHAT TO DO IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION'.

"Mr Potter, sir," Jem spoke. "Why are we being taught about defensive spells? We had just begun learning about Red Caps and Hinkipunks - we aren't supposed to start Defensive Magic until the second year."

"Well, I have been able to bend the rules a little to teach your first years the necessary spells to help with defence. This is _Defence_ Against the Dark Arts after all. What's the point in not being able to defend yourself when you haven't been taught effectively?"

Teddy knew exactly what Harry was referencing to Jem: back in Harry's fifth year, there was a Ministry official called Dolores Umbridge, a vile and vicious woman who wanted complete control over the running of Hogwarts. She currently resides in Azkaban.

"Now," Harry said. "Let's begin."

* * *

Harry had the class pair up, and readies their wands. The first years were learning the basics: _Expelliarmus_ and _Protego_.

After some protest to practice a few more advance spells, Harry said this: "Yes, learning _Stupefy_ and different hexes and jinxes is fun, however sometimes it is useful to the student to start with the basics, and once confidence has grown, then it is wise to move onto something, then continue this till the students is competent enough to defeat an opponent of a similar standing."

The lesson was continued till Harry wanted each pair to show off their new-found skills.

By the end of the lesson, most or nearly all of the wands in the class had been expelled from their owner's hands.

"Right, onto homework!"

* * *

Teddy couldn't catch a moment alone with Harry until late in the evening.

After dinner, Teddy attempted to follow Harry to his office; however he was caught out by Filch. Defeated, Teddy made his way back to the common room and flopped onto one of the sofas.

Amir sat next to him. "What's the matter?"

"I'm trying to have a talk with Unc-I mean, Professor Potter, and I can't seem to get a moment alone with him."

"Haven't you tried using an Invisibility Cloak? Knowing you, you've probably got one of them."

"Professor Potter has it. He keeps it locked in a drawer."

Amir huffed in defeat. "Oh. How did you get out and not get caught last time?"

Teddy thought back. He tried to remember, seeing as it was so long ago. "I'm not sure. I think we just made sure that we hid when we heard any sort of noise.

"That's it?!"

"What do you mean 'that's it'?"

"You're Teddy Lupin! Your godfather is Harry Potter! You must know, like, the secret passages of the castle!"

"Well, I do now, thanks to the Map that Uncle Harry sent to me."

"What's going on?" Tristan asked.

"We're trying to find a way for Teddy to go and visit Professor Potter."

Tristan sat on the left of Teddy. "Well, haven't you tried sending an owl to him?"

"And get Archie all the way from the Owlery? No way."

"How about just going to see him? You've got that map now! It can't be that hard, can it?"

Ollie sat in one of the armchairs. "What can't be that hard?"

"Teddy wants to talk to Professor Potter."

Jem then sat down. "Who wants to see Professor Potter?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a knock at the entrance to the common room.

Jem looked around the boys. "You guys expecting anyone?"

"Nope."

"Can't really remember asking anyone around for tea."

Amir shook his head, as did Ollie.

"Could someone let me in, please? I'd rather not be out here all night."

* * *

Harry sat with the five children around the fireplace. He had a cup of tea and some Ginger Newts.

"What's up, Uncle Harry? Why did you come all the way here?" Teddy questioned.

"I thought it better to do this than have you think of a way to get yourself, and your friends by the sounds of things, to my office without getting caught by Filch and getting a detention." Harry sipped his tea. "I came here because I wanted to give you some information of what's been going on since Professor Akami turned to the dark side." There was a small giggle from Tristan. "Anyway: Professor Akami has disappeared off our radar."

Everyone's eyes grew wide.

"She vanished not too long ago. We had her in our sights, and then she just seemed to have fallen off our map. It was clear that someone had told her that the Ministry was tracking her movements."

"Are you saying that there's a mole in the Ministry of Magic?"

Harry exhaled and closed his eyes out of regret. "Yes."

"What are you going to do then, Professor?" Amir wondered.

"I organised a sizable group of Aurors to act as wardens; these people will go along the perimeter of the grounds in order to find Professor Akami."

"How do you know that she _will_ come back to Hogwarts? It's only the Order of the Phoenix that thinks so. She might try and attack the Ministry, especially since there's a mole."

"The Ministry defence has been doubled so that no attacks can be made whilst the leading Aurors are out of office."

"So you have a chance of stopping this supposed attack?" Jem asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes, the Ministry and Order do however there are concerns of the safety of the students here. Professor McGonagall, I believe, planned to have the school closed down whilst Professor Akami was still at large,"

"But she can't do that!" Teddy exclaimed. "Hogwarts is our home! She can't just chuck us all out and expect us to be happy with that."

Harry gave a small chuckle and ruffled Teddy's rose-coloured hair. "I've heard that argument too many times in my life. I understand why none of you would want to go home, but it was going to happen. Professor McGonagall cares for each and every one of you, as if you were her own children, so I say you guys - especially you, Teddy - should cut her some slack."

Ollie raised his hand. "Sorry to be a bit of a buzzkill, but should Professor Potter be telling any of us this? Who knows, one of us could be a spy for the enemy - and you don't know who could be listening in to Ministry secrets."

"You are right, but I only expected Teddy to be here. It felt rude to exclude all of you to discuss plans about your safety, so that's why I never said anything."

The little clock on the mantelpiece struck midnight.

Harry took a quick glance at it. "Well, I guess I should take my leave,"

"But why? There's so much more you have to tell us!" Teddy whined.

"I wish I could stay and talk all night with you, Teddy, but all of us have classes to go to later today, and I suspect that you all want to pass your upcoming exams. Sleep, now, all of you." Harry turned to walk out of the barrel-door. The others followed suit and began to leave the common-room and head for their dormitories. "Oh, and Teddy?"

"Yeah Uncle Harry?"

"I want to have a word with you about your recent homework assignment for Professor Flitwick - he has told me that he wasn't very impressed with your standard of work." Harry gave a quick, sly wink before exiting the common-room.

* * *

"Now, listen to me, Teddy," Harry had Teddy sat in his office; it had an aura of organised chaos: books, letters, and rolls of parchment littered each nook and cranny of the room, and there surprisingly was space for an owl stand (on it stood the Potter family owl Rubeus, a puffy yet majestic looking Screech Owl). "I want you to understand one thing from the conversation last night: I do not want you or your friends to join the inevitable fighting."

"Why do you think there will be fighting?"

"As with dark powers rising, soon comes a war that no-one wants, and that means children, like you and the others, involved." Harry briefly paused to clean his glasses. "I'm sure that you're aware of the number of casualties from the Second Great Wizarding War?"

"Well, yeah. Professor Binns might be dull, but his lessons do somehow drill themselves in."

Harry raised his eyebrows at Teddy's cockiness. "Okay, Mr Lupin," He _never_ called Teddy by his last name; _ever_. "Tell me the number of children - students, like yourself - who died fighting in that war."

Teddy sat in silence.

"Fifty-six." Harry's voice angered. "Fifty-six students died, and that was all because of who I was, and who I posed a threat to. Now, I don't want another Dark Lord to rise again and claim vengeance for Voldemort's downfall. Seeing as that is coming to pass, people are expecting to be kept safe by the Ministry, or, rather, they are expecting 'The Boy Who Lived Twice' to come and be their saviour once more. I don't want that. I want the Ministry to do their job by keeping the people of the Wizarding World safe, and that is with me as part of it. I don't want to become the face of another fight against evil. I do not want to be the reason why so many young witches and wizards die. Not again. So, Teddy, you have to understand why I'm keeping you in the know, but also telling you to not go and fight for me, or fight because you want to. I've already had to break your grandmother's heart once; don't make me do it again."

Teddy felt shame fall to his cheeks, lighting them up crimson. He also felt his hair change, too.

"If there is a fight that comes to Hogwarts, I want you and your friends to stay out of it. If there is any chance that Professor Akami leads an attack to Hogwarts, I want you to go and hide somewhere - whether that is your dormitory, your common-room, or the kitchens - but I want you to hide. Is that a promise?"

Teddy nodded. "I promise."

"Good. You may go."

As Teddy reached the door, he turned, "I'm sorry, Uncle Harry,"

"Sorry for what?"

"For being a cocky little pisky."

Harry smiled warmly. "It's alright Teddy. In this world, its harsh realities are softened and sugar-coated. You're being taught a subject in such a way that you and your fellow students do not understand the darkness of it all."

* * *

At dinner that evening, Teddy was able to briefly discuss Harry's game plan.

"If there's an attack on the castle, we need to hide. We don't know how the teachers will protect the students, but we need to be able to save ourselves if something goes wrong."

"Where will be hiding, though?" Amir asked. "I mean, the safest place I know of is the kitchens."

"And there's the Hufflepuff common-room as well," Ollie spoke up. "The only people that know how to get in there is us."

"Well we can't fit the whole school in there, can we now?" Tristan said. "Professor McGonagall can only keep us safe for long enough before we're all in danger."

An awful noise filled the Great Hall - a Caterwauling Charm. Harry and the other teachers all rose from their seats in shock, but Professor McGonagall set them all straight.

"Prefects, please escort all students back to their dormitories immediately. All Heads of Houses to go with them. Any remaining teachers are to come with me and Mr Potter."

Teddy stared forward, his eyes turning dark and his jaw set tight. His hands drew into fists so tight that his knuckles were close to tearing out of his skin.

"It's started."


	17. It's Started

Teddy and the others were pushed and shoved back to the Hufflepuff common room by Kayleigh and another Prefect. It appeared that Professor Longbottom was not present.

"If you all could please remain here," The other Prefect called out. "Please be aware of what's going on and stay vigilant. We will shortly be calling out different registers in order to see who is present, and who is not."

Teddy felt restless. He needed to be out there, fighting alongside Harry and the others, and not cooped up like scared chickens. Harry's words echoed in his mind: _I've already had to break your grandmother's heart once, don't make me do it again_. He slumped into a small corner of the common room.

Jem pulled Teddy out of his stupor. "What's the matter?"

"I want to be out there, helping Harry and the other Aurors. I don't want to be stuck cowering in here, missing out on a fight of their lives."

Jem slipped into the gap next to Teddy. "I know, but think about what Harry told you. He wants you to stay here, where it's safe. I want to be fighting too, but I know that my parents want both me and my brother out of any kind of danger - it's a parent thing," Her last words stung Teddy a little.

"Well, I haven't got any of those, have I now?" He bit back at her.

Jem huffed, and began to think of different ways to explain Teddy's potential actions. "Okay, hypotheticals here: if your parents were still alive, what would they want you to do?"

"Stay safe, away from the fighting." He knew that he should be staying in the common-room, where he's safe and out of the fighting; but Teddy knew deep in his bones that he should be in the fight: bloody lips and dirty faces; torn clothes and grazed knees; broken bones and sheepish grins. He wanted that, whether it cost him his life or not.

"But let's face it, you'll not listen to them and go get yourself killed."

Teddy laughed, helping Jem up. "I guess so,"

"So what's the plan?"

* * *

Harry met Ron, Hermione and Neville at the edge of the castle grounds. "I heard the Caterwauling Charm go off. Has she been spotted?"

Ron shook his head.

Harry exhaled in frustration, clenching his hand tightly. "So it could've been her?"

Hermione cut Harry away from the topic. "Did Professor McGonagall send all the students to their common rooms?"

"Oh, and I warned Teddy to stay away from here. I don't want him all tangled up in this fight." Harry nodded.

She scoffed a little. "You are aware that you're his godfather? You're a big influence on him. Whatever you tell him, he'll do the opposite – he's got that from you."

Loud shouts and sparks drew their attention away. Harry and the three charged to see that there were three dark-cloaked men and two Aurors locked in a fierce fight. Ron dashed forward to come to their aid, throwing a _Petrificus Totalus_ at one of the cloaked men.

"Harry!" Neville shouted. "Look!"

Overhead flew billowing black clouds of smoke...

And that meant only one thing...

Death Eaters...

* * *

Teddy had managed to sneak out of the common-room, and he was presently running toward a side entrance to the castle, as that seemed to be where most of the action was going on.

"Teddy!" Amir called out. "Wait!"

Teddy turned, and saw that Amir, Tristan, Ollie, and Jem had followed him. Stefan and Carrie trailed behind the others.

"What are you doing here?!" He hissed at them. "Do you realise that if any you get caught out of your common rooms you'll most likely be expelled?"

"Oh, really?" Tristan said. "And what does it look like you're doing?"

Teddy huffed. "Touché."

"Right, what's the plan?" Amir inquired. "We're nowhere near the common-room anymore,"

"We're heading towards Hagrid's Hut." Teddy replied. "That's where the trouble is."

Ollie stopped him. "No, stop. Teddy, you're going to get yourself killed. Remember what Harry said."

"Bugger what Uncle Harry said to me, okay? I want to help. I want to fight with him. I don't want to be here and wait about – I want to help him stop Voldemort from coming back, and if dying is the only way to do that, then I don't care." Teddy stormed off further down the corridor. "Well? Are you lot coming or not?" Came his voice.

* * *

More and more Death Eaters appeared, and it was becoming clearer that more Aurors needed to be called.

Harry was stopped by Neville. "Harry! We need to call the Ministry!" Harry didn't seem to stop, however; he kept pushing on against the Death Eaters, stunning one after the other. "Look around you, we're outnumbered. We need help. Call the Ministry - the rest of the Order even, we need help!"

"No, we can handle it on our own!" Harry shouted.

There was a loud cry: a young Auror had been killed, and others much like her had been slain.

"Neville, get word to the Ministry quickly! Tell them that we need reinforcements."

"No need to call anyone, Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall calmly said. She sent out an _Immobulus_ charm toward an approaching Death Eater. "You have Hogwarts on your side."

The Minister for Magic Kingsley Shaklebolt then appeared beside the professor. "You have the Ministry as well."

"Minister, what are you doing here?"

"Now's not the time to be asking questions. It's time for action." Shaklebolt charged at a growing group of Death Eaters. The other members of the Order followed suit, with the other Hogwarts professors beside them.

* * *

Teddy and his friends made it to the edge of the castle grounds; the noise from the ongoing battle ravaged the once silent night.

They all readied their wands, waiting for Teddy to give the word so that they could advance on the enemy.

"Please tell me you have a plan, Ted." Stefan said; fear caused his voice to shake. "I don't want to go into this all gun-ho, and I would like to go home at the end of this year in one piece."

"Look, as much as I'd love to have an attack plan, there isn't one. Everything that we do is all … spur of the moment, y'know? Like fight or flight."

"Teddy, I don't think that you understand the magnitude of what's going on here,"

"Yes I do! I understand that we may not have the wider knowledge that the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix do, but we have youth and recklessness on our side, so that's how we're going to attack."

"This is where I begin the question the Sorting Hat's ability." Carrie mumbled.

Teddy saw an open space amongst the fighting. "Okay, on three! One… Two… Th-"

"Argh!" Carrie screamed as a Death Eater grabbed her hair and began to drag her away.

"CARRIE!" Stefan yelled, chasing both of them down.

"STEFAN! STEFAN DO SOMETHING!" Carrie cried out. She was being pulled deeper and deeper into the woods.

Stefan aimed his wand at the Death Eater's face. " _LOCOMOTOR MORITS_!"

The offending Death Eater fell, bringing Carrie with them. But that did not stop the enemy from moving: they bought out their wand and held it to Carrie's throat.

"Move any closer, and she dies." The Death Eater warned.

Stefan, his face stern, held out his wand. His eyes were filled with rage and determination. "Let. Her. Go."

"You can die as well, Blood Traitor. Right after I've finished with her." Although the Death Eater's face could not be seen, Stefan could tell that they were snarling. "That goes for your little friends too."

"I'd like to see you try." Stefan coolly retorted. "Carrie, when I say, throw yourself down."

The Death Eater began to chant: "Avada-"

"NOW! BAUBILLIOUS!" A bolt of lightning that was conjured from Stefan's wand incapacitated the Death Eater, leaving them to quiver sporadically.

Stefan helped Carrie up. "Are you okay?"

She hugged him close. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you!"

Amir laughed. "Remind me never to make you angry."

* * *

The number of attacking Death Eaters had wained a little, as the bulk had either been killed or had retreated.

Harry, his shirt torn and his nose bleeding, caught his breath whilst the rest of the Order and the Hogwarts professors began to clean up the remains of the battle.

"When we get back to the Ministry, should I send word out to the families?" Ron asked him.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, do that. All the families that cannot be contacted will be given a personal visit by me."

"Right, okay mate."

"Potter, is there anything I can do?" Professor McGonagall came by.

"Can you gather some teachers? I want to make a search around the castle for any Death Eaters that might've got through without us seeing." He grabbed Hermione. "Could you stay here and help the others clean up?"

"What about me, Harry? What can I do?" Neville questioned.

"I want you to take Ron and go around to the common rooms. We need a count of all students, and see if there are any missing."

"Sure. Ron! With me!" Neville called out.

He went along with the gaggle of teachers that Professor McGonagall had got together. "Right, let's go."

* * *

The seven children made their way back to the edge of the castle grounds, meeting Hagrid's hut as they did so. "We missed it." Teddy huffed.

"We missed the fight?" Ollie snuck up to Teddy's left side to get a better look. "Bugger."

"I know we all wanted to help, but I think that it's best that we missed it," Tristan said plainly. "I mean, we're all alive and no-one's been seriously hurt."

"I would guess again, Mr Lupin," A callous voice rang out.

They turned to see Professor Akami standing with six other Death Eaters by her side.

"I see that you're all ready for a fight. How sweet." She smiled, but there was no warm emotions coming from that smile. "Now, why don't you lead me to the castle?"

Ollie stepped forward. "Go to hell!"

"Oh my! Mr Callahan, such language is something I never expected from you!" Professor Akami gasped. He face regained composure. "Now, what were you doing? Taking me to the castle?"

* * *

Neville and Ron had made it to the Hufflepuff common room. They were met with a sea of yellow and black as they were greeted by the students eagerly.

"Kayleigh! Kayleigh!" Neville called out.

"Yes Professor?"

"Do you have a list of all present students? We just want to make sure that everyone here is safe."

"Sure." She handed the list over with no trouble.

Both Neville and Ron went through the list. At the bottom, there was a small list of students not present: Edward Lupin, Jemima Keenan-Lindsay, Amir Sohrab, Oliver Callahan, Tristan Howelle.

"Kayleigh, where are these students?"

"I'm not sure Professor. We made a check of their rooms and couldn't find them."

"And you didn't bother to go looking for them?!" He bellowed.

"Sir, we were given strict orders not to leave - not long after we all came back here, Professor McGonagall had sent out a message to tell us all to stay put."

"Look, Neville, you can't blame them for not looking. They've been told what to do. And they've done that."

"But think about it Ron, there's seven students missing. They could be anywhere!"

Jodie Gilbert stepped forward. "I might know where they've gone, Professor," She nervously spoke.

"Where have they gone Jodie?"

"Um, I heard Teddy talking about going to help fight or something. I didn't think much of it, but now you're looking for them, I thought I better speak up. I'm sorry if I've got them in trouble, Professor," Jodie's voice wobbled.

"Hey, it's okay Jodie, you've helped me and Mr Weasley a lot. I promise that you won't get into trouble yourself, trust me." Neville pat her shoulder affectionately.

"Right, let's go looking for these missing students." Ron said.

As the two left the common room, Ron looked at Neville gravely. "I hope that Harry doesn't find out that Teddy's missing."

* * *

Professor Akami was pulling Teddy by the scruff of his neck as they walked back to the castle. The others were being dragged along by the other Death Eaters; Jem had to be immobilised as she put up a fight against one of assailants, and both Amir and Ollie had to have a _Silencio_ charm placed on them, to save the Death Eaters and Professor Akami from being found by the Order.

The enemy was under constant vigilance as they travelled through the castle, being wary of any suspicious noise that rang out. As they all passed an empty corridor, there was a sound that was akin to solid rock being moved: the Room of Requirement was revealing itself.

"AH! Just what we need!" Professor Akami grinned.

As the door materialised, Teddy and the other children were shoved into the open room.

The room was large and spacious, with a long floor that reached an unknown distance; this was the same with the stone walls. It was as if Hogwarts wanted the seven of them to die.

" _Fumos_." A cloud of black smoke erupted from Professor Akami's wand, surrounding both herself and Teddy. "Now, seeing that we are finally alone-"

Teddy spat at her.

"You little _brat_!" She sharply slapped Teddy around the face. She rose her hand to hit him again, however, she straightened herself and her robes before placing a fair distance between the two of them. "Now, Mr Lupin, I'm going to be fair here. I want to have a little Wizard's Duel - just me and you."

"Why?"

"To prove that everything I've taught you has been put to good use. And to show Hogwarts how willing its students are to die stupidly." Professor Akami clicked her fingers, and the cloud of smoke seemed to disappear as fast as it arrived. The smoke showed that each of Teddy's friends had been trapped in headlocks by the Death Eaters. Teddy tried to run towards them, only to be thrown back. "Uh-uh-uh, Mr Lupin," Professor Akami tutted.

"Don't do it Ted!" Stefan called. He was quickly hushed by the female Death Eater that held him.

"Let them go!" Teddy yelled.

"No. I want you to fight. Prove to me that you're willing to die for them."

There was a rush of air. "Get away from my godson." Harry stepped forward, and gave Professor Akami a strong punch in the face.

Other members of the Order appeared: Hermione, Ron, Neville, Minister Shaklebolt, Professor McGonagall, Ginny, Bill Weasley, Fleur, even Percy.

The Death Eaters prepared to attack, as did the Order and Harry. "Ted, I want you and your friends to get out of here."

"No, I'm staying here to help you."

"You've done beautifully, but now it's time for the adults to take over."

"The boy is right, Potter," Professor Akami spat. "Let him fight. Let him die to prove himself!"

"Over my dead body! _STUPEFY_!" Harry roared, letting red sparks fly out of the end of his wand.

Teddy joined in on the offense, letting spell after spell fly. He could see that the Order were fighting also, with his friends alongside them. He let his confidence to swell - which affected his spell-casting: each spell he cast was becoming more powerful as he let his power and magic surge from within.

Smoke and dust arose around them all as they fighting continued. There was an sharp yelp as a Stinging Hex sent Amir flying backward and his face to start swelling up. Jem was fairing a little better, she only had some cuts and scrapes as she and Minister Shaklebolt fought. Stefan and Ron were doing well: their attack against the Death Eater was seeming to be doing good. Ollie was helping Tristan up after he'd been hit by _Stupefy Duo_ charm, unfortunately knocking him unconscious; they were helped by Professor McGonagall, who pulled the two boys out of the room.

"ENOUGH!" Professor Akami sent a wave of energy through the room, sending everyone sailing across it. "It ends here, Lupin, once and for all."

Teddy pulled himself up; his lip was badly split, and he was looking very pale from a gash on his head. He rose his wand: " _Confringo_!"

Professor Akami blocked it.

" _Expelliarmus_!"

Once again, it was blocked.

" _Impedimentia_!"

Blocked.

" _Rictusempura_!"

She laughed. "You really think that a charm like _that_ will do me harm? Mr Lupin, I'm very surprised at you. Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

Teddy, catching his breath, caught a brief glimpse of Harry: he was readying his wand, waiting for the right moment to attack. "Have you ever studied the qualities of each Hogwarts House, Professor?"

"No. Why?"

"They're all very special in their own way. For example Gryffindor," Harry came rushing forward and hit Professor Akami with Aqua Eructo charm, causing a large spray of water to knock the Professor down. "Are bold, daring. Everything that a warrior should be. Then there's Ravenclaw," Stefan cast the Baubilious charm, causing white-hot electric volts to shock her. "Very clever people, Ravenclaws. Always know what the best course of action is." Carrie appeared and cast the _Ascendio_ charm, raising Professor Akami into the air by her ankle. "Now Slytherin, they get a bad rep. I find them to be very brilliant people: they always bring everything that's needed to the proverbial table."

"LET ME GO LUPIN! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" She screeched.

" _Silencio_." Teddy angrily spat. "Now, where was I? Ah! Hufflepuffs. Very misunderstood people, Hufflepuffs. Most people think that we're lazy, not that bright, but let me tell you one thing: Hufflepuff's are _extremely_ loyal. And loyalty, Professor, means one thing." He cast the _Glacius Tria_ charm; this encased Professor Akami in an iceberg. Teddy bought the glacier down with a forceful downward weave of his wand: the ice shattered, and Professor Akami's body crumpled against the stone floor. "And that one thing is this: loyalty means never turning back on the ones you love, loyalty means protecting the ones you love no matter what - even if the cost if your own life. Loyalty, Professor Akami, means that you can be as cruel as you want to those who threaten your family, because, at the end of the day, it means that good wins, and evil loses. _PETRIFICUS TOTALUS_!"

Professor Akami froze, her body straightening out, and her skin turning blue.

Teddy turned to Harry, and weakly smiled at him before letting the world around him shrink into blackness.


	18. Before It Has Begun, We've Already Won

Teddy was groggy as he was shaken awake by Ollie.

"Teddy! Are you alright? Teddy?"

Teddy groaned. "I'm awake, I'm awake, just please stop shaking me. My head feels like it's about to explode."

"That's because you've got a nasty bump on your head, Mr Lupin. Out of the way!" Madame Pomfrey shooed the boy away as she began to examine the gash on Teddy's forehead. "I don't know why you shouldn't have come straight to me, Mr Lupin. You wouldn't have been knocked out for so long."

"How long have I been out, Madame Pomfrey?"

"A day."

_A day_. He missed a day of school, and that was all because of his stupidity.

"Oh, but don't worry, your Ravenclaw friend made sure to bring all of your school work here for you." She smiled at the stack of parchment scrolls and the textbooks that sat at the bottom of the bed.

Teddy let his head slump back into the pillows.

"There's no time to dither about, Mr Lupin. Get to work!"

* * *

Teddy spent the rest of the day completing the missing work. Jem came by at noon, handing him more work that he missed. "Professor Potter said that he'll visit later, before dinner."

"Cool, thanks Jem."

"Oh, I almost forgot." She reached into her school bag and bought out a brightly wrapped present. "I forgot to give you this for your birthday. Well, it was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I forgot to send it to you over the holidays."

Teddy grinned. "Thanks Jem. Do you want me to open them now, or when I'm out of here?"

"Um, when you're out of here. I wanna see your face when you open it."

"Okay. Thanks again, Jem."

He set back to work as Jem left the Hospital Wing.

For the rest of the day, Teddy had visitors ranging from Amir and the others to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Angelina was adamant in letting Teddy know of a new training strategy that she set for the new year: "We're second place, as of our last game, so that's a bummer for us, but that doesn't stop us from trying harder next year."

He was finally visited by Harry, who had been sent to bring him to the Great Hall for dinner.

"I'm so proud of you for being the hero, Ted," Harry ruffled Teddy's hair. "But, I am disappointed that you deliberately disobeyed me. You could of been killed, but it's worse: you put your friends in danger!"

"But I didn't! They wanted to come with me!"

"Yes, because they see you as a leader, Teddy. That's great an all, but it's not good. There could be a day where they all follow you into something that they cannot face."

"But what about Professor Akami and those Death Eaters? That was something that they couldn't face and yet we won!"

"I know, Ted, but the Aurors came to help eventually, didn't they? I'm talking about a time where you are all on your own."

Teddy let a thought creep into his head: "You haven't told my gran, have you?"

"Of course I haven't! She has every right to know, but it's better if she isn't aware. I told her you had an accident during a training exercise and fell from your broom." Harry said. "I also spoke to the Head Editor at the Daily Prophet: as far as they are aware, the Ministry tackled the attack with help from individuals at Hogwarts; you and your friends are safe."

Teddy wrinkled his nose.

"What, you _want_ to have your face plastered all over the papers, and have Rita Skeeter after you?"

Teddy began to laugh, as did Harry.

"Y'know, if your dad was here, I don't know what he'd say, but I know that he'd be relived that you're alive. Your mum, well, I think she'd be angry and happy at the same time."

"So she'd have orange hair?"

"Yeah." Harry chortled, and handed Teddy his robes. "C'mon, there's a feast waiting for you."

* * *

Professor McGonagall met the two of them in the antechamber outside of the Great Hall.

"It's good to see you, Mr Lupin."

"And it's good to see you, Professor,"

She turned to Harry. "Do you want to announce your news to the students, or shall I?"

"I think it'll be better coming from you, Professor." Harry smiled.

Teddy tugged on Harry's jacket sleeve. "What's going on?"

"Wait and see, Ted, wait and see." Harry led Teddy into the hall. Cheers erupted as everyone caught sight of Harry, all offering their hands out for high-fives or for Harry to shake them. Teddy noticed that his friends were mixed with members of the Order, as well as the Aurors that helped during the battle; he ran over to them all, and was welcomed with hugs and pats on the back.

The raucous was calmed down when Professor McGonagall stood up at the golden podium. "Students, I welcome you all to your last feast of the year. I know that you will all miss the delicious food that the House Elves make for us to enjoy, so I would like it if we gave them a big round of applause in thanks," Everyone followed the order, although there were some that were rather confused by it. "And, I want us all to thank the Aurors and members of the Wizarding community that fought against the attacking forces." Again, there was another round of applause; whistles, cheers, and hollers were mingled with the gracious noise that came from the hall. "And now, onto the matter of the House Cup," There was a collective groan from the Gryffindor table; it was clear that they weren't successful in securing the House Cup that year. "In fourth place, with three hundred and twenty-two points is Gryffindor house; in third place, with three hundred and ninety-nine points is Slytherin," A small group applauded both houses on their placement. "With four hundred and seventy-three points and in second place is Ravenclaw; and in first place, with four hundred and eight-one points is Hufflepuff."

An loud score of whoops, claps, and cheers rung off the walls of the hall.

"I do believe that a change of scenery is to be made, don't you think, Professor Flitwick?"

"Of course, Headmistress." Professor Flitwick bowed his head. " _Colovaria!_ "

The banners that hung from the celing in the hall changed from the Hogwarts crest to a badger, the black and white fur was rampant against the bright yellow and black of the banner fabric.

"Well done to Hufflepuff on their victory of the House Cup. These house points were won through outstandingly good work, their relationships between themselves and their teachers and peers, as well as upholding the house trait of loyalty throughout recent events here at Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall flourished her hands: "Let the feast begin!"

* * *

The boys and Jem sat in the common room, tea and toast set out in front of them. They all laughed and remembered their favourite memories from theri first year at Hogwarts.

"Do you remember when an owl went mad and flew right into Professor McGonagall's breakfast?" Tristan asked.

"Oh yeah! It was this tiny little owl that just went buzzing around the Great Hall, everyone was following it with their eyes. Poor Professor McGonagall didn't know what to do!" Ollie cackled.

"What about the time when Amir accidentally turned his robes bright green in Charms?" Teddy mentioned.

"I couldn't help it if Jodie Gilbert's wand was busted! Apparently that was her brother's old wand: no wonder it wouldn't behave for her!"

They spent the later part of the evening packing their trunks and messing about.

* * *

Teddy remembered the present that Jem gave him earlier - "Oh, Jem! I forgot about this!"

"Why don't you open it now?" Amir said.

The five children sat in the common room once again as Teddy tore at the present that Jem gave him. Once opened, it was revealed that Jem had given him some Muggle CDs.

"What's this?"

"Oh, it's mine and Stefan's favourite band: Fall Out Boy."

Ollie became excited: "I've heard of them! My older cousin Harriet went to see them perform when she went to America last year. They're really good, I hear."

Teddy turned over each CD: the cover of one featured four young men sitting on a sofa; another showed a coach crash. "Whoa. These guys like odd covers." The last one caught his eye: " _Belivers Never Die_?"

"Oh, yeah, they sort of announced that the band were taking a break. Apparently it was needed."

"Really? So they've broken up?" Teddy wondered.

"It's nothing like that. There was an interview that one of them did - I think it was Pete-"

"Who's Pete?"

"Only one of the greatest lyricists and bass players in the world!" Ollie exclaimed.

"Pete Wentz. He's the band's bassist." Jem giggled. "Anyway, Pete did an interview and said that he and the lead singer were constantly having arguments, so it was kinda necessary to call this break. I guess the four of them need some air."

Teddy kept flicking through the five CDs, admiring the cover art. "Wow Jem, that's really nice of you. Thank you so much."

"Hey, it's nothing. After listening to them, you could call yourself a Huffle _punk_ , eh?"

The four boys laughed, and Tristan put his face in his hands. "I can't believe you just did that!"

* * *

Hagrid met all the students at the train station the next day, helping them all load their things onto the train. He caught Teddy and his friends as they headed toward one of the middle carriages.

"How was yer firs' year, Teddy?" He asked.

"It was brilliant, Hagrid. I can't wait to com back next year!"

Hagrid deeply laughed. "Ah, this castle's got a funny effect, don't it? No-one wants to leave 'ere, y'know. They always have these little looks on their faces that give it away. But they always seem brighter when they come back."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Teddy nodded.

Amir stuck his head out of the window: "Come on Ted! You don't want to miss the train!"

Teddy gave Hagrid a quick hug. "So I'll see you next year, then?"

"Course you will, Ted."

* * *

Somehow, Jem had gotten one of the seventh-years to charm the CDs for the train ride home: at that moment, _From Under the Cork Tree_ was blaring in their compartment.

"Ah I forgot how good this band is." Jem sighed contentedly.

"Yeah, but can we play _Folie a Deux_ after this? I really like that album," Stefan said.

"C'mon! Nothing can beat _Cork Tree_!" Jem argued.

"Why don't we just listen to _all_ the albums? I mean, we're nearly at the end of this one anyway," Carrie pointed out.

For the rest of the train journey, the seven children sat around and listened to the CDs, all the while chatting and laughing.

* * *

By the time the Hogwarts Express arrived back in London, Stefan and Carrie had fallen alseep, and Ollie was on verge of dozing off himself.

They were awoken by some Prefects who made their final round of the train before departing it themselves. The same Prefect that got them off the train helped them all with getting their luggage off the train.

Jem and Stefan met up with their parents, as well as some of their siblings; Tristan was almost tackled-hugged by a little girl with dark curly hair and a big smile; Ollie hugged his mum whilst his father wheeled his trunk and cat basket toward the barrier; Amir was greeted by a well-dressed couple: his mother was quite striking with her black hair curled and her warm nut-brown eyes.

Teddy was met with the comforting smile of his gran, as well as the bright giggles and laughter of Victoire. He couldn't see if Harry was with them, but it didn't really matter to him - he'd spent time with Harry since mid-May, but it was seeing his gran was all that mattered to him.

"Oh Edward, I've missed you so much!" Mrs Tonks hugged him tightly; Teddy breathed in the scent that he was longing after on the train: the smell of the fireplace, the burnt toast, and most of all, the smell of home. "Harry told me about the accident you had," Mrs Tonks checked over the healing cut on his head. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, gran, don't worry. One of the Beaters hit the Buldger too high and it nearly hit my broom,"

"You've got to be more careful when training! You may not be the Seeker, but you need to work on your eyesight! I'm going to let your Aunt Hermione take you to one of those eye doctors to get your eyes checked."

"Gran!" Teddy grumbled, but laughed with Victoire as they left the platform.

* * *

Mrs Tonks had made a special dinner for the two of them to share that evening: spaghetti bolognese with apple crumble as pudding. She also let Teddy put on his favourite Muggle film of _Ghostbusters_.

Teddy couldn't help but fall asleep during the film. Mrs Tonks, sprightly despite her age, pciked up her sleeping grandson and carried him off to bed, tucking him up in his bed-sheets snugly.

Softly closing the door, she swore that she heard "Goodnight Nanna." from the dark room. Mrs Tonks smiled as she went about tidying up the kitchen and cleaning up after the tea and crumble that they both shared at they watched the film.

It had been a tiring year for Teddy, but he wished that he could tell his grandmother that he had met a centaur, battled against Death Eaters, and met some of the greatest friends that anyone could ask for. He hoped that, once he woke up, that none of the past year had been a dream, that the memories that he had made with his friends weren't all inside his head.

But as an old and very wise man once said: " _Of course it's happening inside your head ... Why should that mean it's not real?_ "


End file.
